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!.

cryptoherpetology: (006)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-26 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
It was fascinating. [ He realizes he sounds like one of the characters on his sister's science fiction shows when he says that. He doesn't care. ] Hopefully it wasn't cooking time and wine pairing ideas. [ He's been considered a potential meal — many times by things he was trying to save — often enough by now that the possibility is just kind of... always there now. Even without the family business, he still fed the crocodiles often enough to have very firm reminders of where he stands on the food chain. ]
portolan: (w e l l l l l)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-26 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ he sees alina's smile and leans in to whisper conspiratorially. ] All over the universe scholars are rolling in their graves and waking up in cold sweats because we, two uninformed plebeians, are attempting to compare laws of existence that both of us skipped the reading on. Imagine the power we now hold.

How about you then? What not-spells can you do?

rhapsodical: (Default)

[personal profile] rhapsodical 2021-05-26 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's got a point. Despite the slight edge to her voice, Zeta doesn't seem to be offended in any way, lips curving up in an easy smile. ]

Aha, you're right, you're right. It is kind of my fault too.

[ There's no time to dwell on it anyway even if she wanted to, more important matters immediately rising to the surface. Her attention's immediately piqued by the mention of exploration, body snapping to attention. ]

Oh, you can definitely count me in then! I can only sit around and set up hammocks for so long.

[ She is dying....please let her (maybe) see some action... ]
neversmall: (079)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-26 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ She'd say yes to almost anything, if he took her hand and looked at her like that.

(Once again, he hadn't hurt her and walked away.)

...Saints, he was calling her out on being over-protective. And in this humbling moment, Nina realized he was right. She so desperately didn't want him to regret her, to regret the choice that they made and never got to see through before this happened; she so desperately didn't want what they had to turn sour and bitter and become poison within him that she was trying to cushion him from things that he needed to face on his own.

That didn't mean she was wrong to question what had happened. And it wasn't wrong to try to keep someone you... cared for... from being hurt. (She did wake up with Trassel under her hammock every morning.) But... she needed to trust him in a way she wasn't sure she could. Well. At least she could try.

Nina tugged his hand to pull him closer and stepped in herself to wrap her other arm around his waist and rest her head against his chest. ]


This can be.

[ Hug her back. 8|

This is very hard. But it's worth it. ]
cryptoherpetology: (038)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-26 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ He ends up having to step away for a minute, and from somewhere nearby there's a harsh whistle, muffled by the crowd, and maybe a wall or two.

When he comes back, it's clear by what he meant by "something like a" large bird. The animal is equal parts cat and raven, with a solid black beak and shiny feathers blending into long charcoal grey-to-black fur. Unlike a bird, he has four feet- the back two are paws, and the front two bear very sharp-looking talons. He tilts his head curiously at the wolf, and makes a chuffing sound.

Church griffins will follow wolves around in the wild, eating carrion from the scraps they leave, if Alex remembers correctly. Packs and flocks will sometimes grow used to each other, especially when prey is plentiful. Buuuut church griffins don't exist everywhere wolves do, so Alex keeps the animal perched on his shoulder, putting a hand to his fuzzy chest to signal him to stay there. ]


This is Crow. He doubles as a scout and can harry some larger prey long enough to distract it, usually. He can track familiar people, too- when he's given the incentive, anyway. [ [ He is partially morphologically feline, after all. ] ]
Edited 2021-05-26 03:15 (UTC)
trassel: (16.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-26 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ This is very hard. But not every movement on the path feels like fighting an avalanche. There's flow, and it leads Matthias to wrap both arms gently around her, to rest his chin on the crown of her head. Hugging her back. If there's ever a role he plays without thought and without hesitation, it's that of her protector. If it's comfort she needs, she need not even reach for him, he would step forward towards her. ]

You're so devious; [ he whispers, lightly, ] it takes time, to see what you're really asking. But I warned you I would not be fooled.
trassel: (07.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-26 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
I greet Crow as a friend.

[ In the absence of knowing what... to do exactly — Matthias is most used to wolves and horses. He's aware, generally speaking, what one must not do in front of a strange animal so it doesn't perceive a threat, but as for Crow specifically...? A shame he doesn't have any biscuits or other such treats on him. Hm! What a fascinating creature. The characteristics of a raven do a lot to elevate the animal's station, in his mind. Ravens are friends to wolves, in the wild, often forming relationships with packs. Although Trass' currently consists of him, Matthias (and is expanding to include Nina), there's always room for a friend. ]

[ Trass leans forward again, sniffing curiously, eyes fixed on Crow. ]

Is he related to a raven in any way?
cryptoherpetology: (007)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-26 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ Alex is very familiar with this kind of overthinking pattern.

Because it is his own thinking pattern. Seeing it happen in real time is an interesting experience. And so when he makes his suggestion, it's gentle and any hint of mocking in it is drenched in self-deprecating familiarity. ]


There is also the very large, very advanced spaceship that our hosts got here in. They might already have something like that. [ Something you can duplicate if they don't let you use theirs, he wants to add on. ] Besides, [ he continues, more quietly as they break away from the crowd. ] playing nicely with the space Navy and asking to use their toys is an excuse to get to know these people a little better. [ He has no reason to trust any fellow hatchlings, but at least they're in similar situations. Knowing you're starting in the same place as someone makes them a lot less suspicious. ]
neversmall: (089)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-26 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not trying to fool you, [ she repeats, hearing what he's not saying. This isn't an apology; he doesn't owe her one. It is an explanation. They are still learning each other. He was only himself and that is all she wants from him.

She does feel a bit of a pang at hearing devious - treacherous - again, a bit of fear. But, well, she is devious. And he doesn't seem to mind. And she isn't being devious with him, and somehow that's all right too.

This is, if not the first time, than one of the first times they have been this close, pressed against each other since they arrived in this weird planet, dripping in goo. It feels like having a bone set, to be close to him again, like some part of her heart that was holding its breath finally got to sigh with relief, and then inhale.

Lightly: ]
So count yourself lucky.
wittingly: (Oɴʟʏ ғᴏᴏʟs ʀᴜsʜ ɪɴ)

[personal profile] wittingly 2021-05-26 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
Wellp.

( He starts pleasantly, nary a scrap of embarrassment in his tone. )

If society taught me anything, it's that I'm supposed to have fragile pride foisted upon me by my manly and abundant testosterone. In order to save it, I'm gonna go with... that was a test, and you passed. Congratulations on thinking of... common sense things that I also definitely thought of.

( It's all drawled out in a wry, mellow sort of deadpan. Chill and upbeat, because the man's steady baseline calm is unshakable and he has no concept of the word Shame. Never heard of her. )
cryptoherpetology: (029)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-26 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
Not exactly- his species is probably more closely related to a platypus or echidna than either of the animals he actually looks like given some of their other traits. But they behave similarly enough in the wild to ravens that they fill very similar roles.

[ Crow gives Trassel a curiously cautious churr, tucking his head down into ruffed-up chest plumage. Like the human he's perched on, Crow can recognize something when something that could eat him if it really, really wanted to. He's never encountered a wolf before, so he's going off some very rough natural instincts about how not to make himself look un-food-like as possible. Alex can feel the long, shaggy tail curling and uncurling against his back. ]
trassel: (50.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-26 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
What kind of animal is he?

[ He doesn't recognise those animals. Which is not surprising, given he's not even been outside of Fjerda much, and would have a lot of trouble outside of an Arctic biome. Ignorance of that kind isn't shameful, he will simply ask later, what they are, and what usefulness they have, if any. The important part is that whatever Crow is fills a role that Trassel is already familiar with. ]

[ He only eats out of Matthias' plate, or food Matthias has said is for him, so there's no baring of teeth or the low prowl before a pounce as he moves away from under Matthias' hand and approaches slowly to Investigate. ]

Trassel won't bite, [ he assures Alex. ]
psychometries: (106)

[personal profile] psychometries 2021-05-26 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, Cal certainly isn't going to disagree with that assessment. This ship is as big as—maybe even bigger than—a Separatist dreadnought, and without anywhere near its armaments. He'd helped scrap one of them on Bracca, and the job took months.

There is one thing Vidar said that piques his curiosity. "Civilians." ]


You were military?

[ While they pick through the ship, BD-1 turns on his spotlight and shines it forward, over Cal's shoulder. It appears that they arrived in the remains of some sort of hallway, though the inner wall has been ripped apart, exposing more of the inside of the ship. Cal looks around, surveying the damage. ]
trassel: (31.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-26 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
This is not luck.

[ Blunt, and matter-of-fact, seeming a bizarre contrast to her tease until he leans down to catch her eyes, and she can see the slow, mischievous curve of his mouth advancing up. It's good to feel like this. Warm, and safe, but also impossibly strong. ]

It's a formidable druskelle technique. I have, [ lowering his voice, charging it with mock-gravity, ] ensnared you.
fortyforged: (order's ready)

[personal profile] fortyforged 2021-05-26 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
The Exo grunts, conceding that point. "You saw that thing too, then? Thought I was imagining things, but then..." He glances down at his chest, shrugging as he slowly straightens to his feet again.

The proposal to test things by waking up gains Alex an expectant look, Banshee wondering the same. "Some say Exos don't dream. I figure dreaming isn't that different from memories, but that don't explain what this is," he muses, looking back out at the water, perhaps trying to catch a glimpse of whatever had ducked beneath the surface, or any sort of life, really.
psychometries: (009)

[personal profile] psychometries 2021-05-26 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ Great! This can only go well. ]

Hungry? I don't know. Wouldn't they have told me to feed— [ He stumbles a little on the baby's gender, because he doesn't actually know it. He finally settles on: ] —it?

[ Do babies have feeding schedules, or do you just feed them whenever they're hungry? He sounds kind of stumped, honestly, at least until the baby starts giving in to full-blown sobs, and then he downgrades more into panic. All around them, toddlers wreck havoc—one very harried beep sounds from over near a pile of toys, a distress call from BD-1 that Cal (unfortunately) has to ignore. It's a mess. ]

Shh, don't cry, okay? It's alright. [ As he rocks the baby in a vain attempt at soothing it, a certain... smell wafts towards them. Well. ]

Uh. I think I know why it's crying.
cryptoherpetology: (016)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-26 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
Mhm, try to pass the same test when I inevitably give it and we can call it even. [ Alex's chill is not quite as all-encompassing, nor as upbeat. He's been living to be overlooked for as long as he can remember, purposefully coming off as a bit boring to hide the pile of weird that is his life. Even without the need to hide, he's still leaning heavy into the stereotype of a quiet, bookish nerd who talks more to his pet than other people. Something that's getting harder the more people he keeps meeting. ]

I have two younger sisters and some cousins who made sure that my fragile pride was decimated before leaving junior high. [ Antimony, especially, was gifted at this. Waking up at the kitchen table after falling asleep doing homework with pencils stuck in his nose and falling into his baby sister's increasingly complicated pit traps made for a very ego-eradicating childhood. ]
cryptoherpetology: (021)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-05-26 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
He's a church griffin. [ Which implies the existence of other griffins.


Alex takes his hand from Crow's chest, and gives him a nod, letting him hop down off his shoulders to begin the cautious ritual of you-sniff-me-I-sniff-you that animals not inclined to eat one another seem to all know how to engage in. ]


Crow should be fine, then. Church griffins tend to pick up on familiar people and animals even faster than ravens. [ He smirks and adds a jokingly scolding tone. ] Though Crow has learned that some people will feed him treats to re-win him over if he "forgets" them. [ Smarts of a bird, emotional manipulation skills of a cat. ]
psychometries: (014)

[personal profile] psychometries 2021-05-26 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ The lack of conversation doesn't bother Cal at all, since he's not particularly chatty himself, unless prompted, so he's perfectly content to hike in companionable silence. He speaks to BD-1 a lot more, making occasional comments about whatever the droid is scanning or not wandering too far, which usually nets him some cheerful beep-boops in return.

At the question, though, he turns to glance at Illumi, his eyebrows raising slightly. He takes a little offense at the word it, on BD-1's behalf, but it doesn't show on his face. ]


What, from the scans? It's all added to his databank.

[ Unless he means if BD-1's beeps are actually intelligible to him? Honestly, that doesn't even occur to Cal right away, since he takes understanding Binary for granted. ]
psychometries: (115)

[personal profile] psychometries 2021-05-26 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's not enthusiasm so much as resignation, honestly. Sometimes you're just eating for the sake of not starving, which is a position Cal is pretty familiar with at this point.

In any case, he looks up from his rather spiritless meal when she moves to shield her eyes, and quickly intervenes. ]


Hey, buddy, try not to shine that in people's eyes, okay?

[ If it's not obvious, he's addressing the droid, who responds with a few beep-boops in Binary, the tones of which sound as genuinely contrite as beeps can be. Cal shakes his head a little in return, his expression fond. Next, he looks over at Trish and assures her: ]

Uh, he doesn't actually eat. He just wanted to scan the food, to see what it was.
trassel: (23.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-05-26 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ And so it begins. Trass moves around, just sniffing, and deciding with a huff that he will flop down and enjoy the space without much worry of sharing it with Possible New Friend. ]

[ Matthias' lip curls in amusement. ]

So he knows who is a soft touch.

[ He won't find much of one here. Matthias is beloved to nearly every animal he's met, in some other world out there he missed his calling as a Disney Princess. But he's not one to fall for those kinds of tricks. ]

Did you raise him from young, or was he a gift?
cicatrize: (pic#7776820)

sanitation, cw: drugs

[personal profile] cicatrize 2021-05-26 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ on a normal day, you wouldn't catch jack benjamin within a mile of sanitation work, but that was before he heard whispers of drugs in someone's care. it's been a long fucking week (it's been a long life, let's be honest). he's stood by and supervised the digging of some latrine holes, held tools for plumbers, and even replaced a couple lightbulbs all by himself. it's enough to earn him access to The Stash, and jack's the first one to reach out for that freshly rolled joint Ian's offering. ]

Small blessings, huh? [ he murmurs, settling into whatever even (clean) surface is next to Ian, lights up and inhales. then, abruptly coughs like a freaking amateur. ] Good God, that's disgusting.

[ jack wheezes, thumping a hand against his chest, despite already taking another hit. he knew there was a reason he always went for pills and booze. ]
cicatrize: dns. (pic#7957534)

dreaming

[personal profile] cicatrize 2021-05-26 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ despite the world he came from, jack has a distinct lack of spiritual, ethereal moments in his memory. while God spoke to his father and sister in swarms of butterflies, thunderstorms, and terminal illness, he was utterly silent on jack's radar. the world has always simply been the world to him, nothing special, magical, or ancient about it.

this dream is something else entirely. there's a mystic, otherworldly quality and it has him altogether entranced. this sort of thing he's yearned for all his life, a touch of something beyond their dull, grey, painful human world. ask him in waking hours if he ever longed for spirituality and he'd let out a bitter scoff, but it's one of many things jack envies others for, yet would never voice himself. his eyes don't leave the water as he answers. ]


Maybe we should ask.

[ jack murmurs, gaze locked on the ripples that remain from the creature's descent back underneath the water's surface. pacing forward, the dream's been kind enough to forego shoes, and jack doesn't look interested in stripping down before following the creature into the water. ankle deep at the lapping shore, he glances back over a shoulder - ] Coming with?
swordjock: (210)

[personal profile] swordjock 2021-05-26 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ She knows an accusatory tone when she hears one, and while she'd normally accuse back, or at least try and defend herself... she just lowers her head in shame, still standing on top of the table. ]

Don't laugh, but I maybe, sort of, kind of... [ rushed, out of embarrassment: ] ... thoughtIwasunderattack.

[ Which makes her feel even more ridiculous once she gets a glimpse of BD-1 in Cal's arms. Slowly, Adora's expression turns completely hangdog-esque, as she watches the two of them interact. It reminds her of Entrapta and Emily, and she wants to kick herself for her paranoia, but she feels the need to at least explain her actions, if not excuse them. ]

Most robots are less friendly and more laser-y. [ Complete with pew pew! fingerguns for emphasis. ] And uh, destroy... -y, Or at least the ones I'm used to are. But I'm sorry about your friend, [ after a slight pause, when she realizes what's now colouring Cal's pants: ] ... and your food.

[ Adora glances behind her, and, finding her own plate miraculously not flipped over, grabs it to offer up to Cal with a sheepish smile. She'd only gotten in a few mouthfuls before The Incident, so it's still mostly intact. ]
usurpurr: ([s4] pic#14751596)

[personal profile] usurpurr 2021-05-26 12:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well, having an answer does wonders to cool off Catra's mood. But wow, she did not miss trying to drag information out of people -- pulling out her own hair would be a more relaxing way to spend her time.]

Copies. [She drags the word out sceptically; like there's something about it he's deliberately not telling her. Her nose twitches as she sniffs the air, trying to see if she can catch any lingering trace of the magic she's assuming he used.] And you can just make as many of them as you want?