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!.

bestaround: (pic#14213325)

• zeta

[personal profile] bestaround 2021-05-27 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ Once again, 9S doesn't need to be at the cafeteria. The first time, he was shoved into the large room by those who hadn't known what he was, but now he walks in with a different purpose: he kind of... wants to know what this stuff tastes like. He's gleaned it isn't the best that could be offered, based on the grimaces and frowns he spots at times, but how bad could it really be?

He isn't in a hurry, at least, so when he comes upon a familiar face seated at a table, along with the same expression of displeasure spotted on so many other faces already, 9S can't help but pause. His Pod, all the meanwhile, hovers silently overhead. ]


You don't look too happy about that.
bestaround: (pic#11794030)

• bruno

[personal profile] bestaround 2021-05-27 07:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ Being voluntold for these sorts of missions tends to be the story of his life. 9S could swear that he's gotten a similar request a hundred times over from someone of the Resistance or from the machine village back on Earth, and... sometimes was happy to oblige. Honestly, traversing through this mostly uninhabited planet sounds like a pain, but—he can't really say no, not when he's obligated to assist humans. (It's still odd to say he can do that now.)

He isn't alone, at least, and by sheer coincidence, he has a partner in Bruno again. The guy has proven himself more than capable though, if there's anyone he has to accompany, even if he was a little bossy before. ]


Well– [ he begins unceremoniously, as they meet up at the fringes of the Leviathan; this time, Pod is along for the ride, floating over 9S' shoulder. ] think you got another long walk in you?
bestaround: (pic#14168004)

• two bees 🐝🐝

[personal profile] bestaround 2021-05-27 07:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ Truly, there is nowhere to go without someone insisting they have work for you, which is precisely what happens inside the theatre. 9S merely makes his way in to better familiarize himself with the place, and yet two seconds don't pass before he's accosted by a caretaker. Normally, 9S is hesitant to turn down the many requests he's gotten within only a matter of days, but none of them have ever involved.... childcare. With real kids. ]

Uh, look— [ He glances sideways at his Pod, as if he expects it to come up with the perfect excuse to slip away from this manner of responsibility, but in the end, it only stays silent. ] What if I just helped with the repair work instead?
cleaningsolutions: (Default)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-05-27 10:18 am (UTC)(link)
She's losing her, Mops sees, and closes her eyes for a few seconds to try and pull herself together, a crease showing between her brows. This situation isn't possible by her understanding of how anything works but she's well aware that her understanding is limited, she will get back to that on her own time.

It's a good thing it's her present, and not someone else from her team. Kumar would just stop listening if he wasn't fully engaged, assuming he wasn't completely preoccupied by the dirt and germs that came with a new environment. Monroe would grasp the implications here at least as well as she could, but he would beat the topic to death without an explicit order to stop, or else shut down. Wolf... Wolf would either be fighting these people or making threats.

"Parents," she says faintly, and opens her eyes. Something between horror and wonder, even awe, shows on her face. It's so much easier to keep her composure with Doc's help. "You were never feral in the first place. You have red blood and feel pain, and so did all your ancestors. I... Please let me help you. I know you're in a bad situation, and showing up like this just made it worse."
swordjock: (154)

[personal profile] swordjock 2021-05-27 11:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Deep breaths Adora, just like Perfuma taught you... good thing there are all these convenient eggs for her to take out her frustration on. ]

Just answer the question. [ Question, not accusation it was absolutely an accusation. ]
medik: (red death is in the plain)

A

[personal profile] medik 2021-05-27 02:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yakov stares up the rust-red cliff face with a frown, sighing briefly through his nose. Perhaps it is because of his background, his experience in the Carpathians, that he sees it not for its geological form but for what it represents: broken spines, necks, shattered femurs, rocks waiting to give out under the weight of a human body. It's why he'd volunteered - this Aleksander seems too confident, too sure he won't be injured. Those are the types, in his experience, that die first, right along war's favorite category, 'men who have wives and children'. ]

We need to go around until we can get to the edge. It's safer to rappel down than to try and climb that.
cicatrize: dns. (pic#8203840)

B

[personal profile] cicatrize 2021-05-27 02:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ this started as a fetch quest, and turned into an expedition at some point, jack couldn't pinpoint where, but he can't say he misses being crowded into that dead thing's skeleton, with all the other refugees. less claustrophobic, out here in the open, but the constant threat of acid rain isn't doing much for his dour mood. ]

It's a spaceship. [ he speaks up, leaning his back against the rusted hull, examining the herb they'd been sent for. ] Basically an oversized, airborne yacht.

[ it is actually impressive, jack's just in a shitty mood. trekking through the wilderness does that to him. look, he's seen Star Wars, okay, the leviathan carcass is still blowing his mind a little more. ]

The dragon's not that shamed.
medik: (he's abdicated)

wildcard!!

[personal profile] medik 2021-05-27 04:45 pm (UTC)(link)
You again.

[ Yakov says it with fondness — the young man was quite helpful last time, and it speaks to his strength of character that he can be seen around the aid station when his defined job is with the engineers. He's the kind of person he'd get on well with back home, and he bears a striking resemblance to some of the younger Leninists in his generosity with his time and labor. ]

If you are here to help, there are some patients I could use assistance moving.
swordjock: (213)

[personal profile] swordjock 2021-05-27 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Despite the broccoli, Adora finds herself grinning back, mostly on instinct. She doesn't want to admit that she isn't sure what half of those things are, either, so she just goes with it; deferring to Sam's clear expertise on the matter. ]

Yeah, it's a real shame about the garlic, and the [ with awful pronunciation, but clearly Trying: ] par-me-sharn. I bet that really ties it all together.

[ Nailed it. ]

At least there's coffee? Even if it tastes like something out of the Fright Zone's sewers. Not that I'm complaining — I mean, they're doing what they can for us, I know that, but I already miss real food.

[ Does she miss the routine and the physicality of the Horde sometimes? Yes. The food? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo. ]

... You seem like you're handling it well, though. Not your first time?
unclesam: ((6))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-27 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If anything, Sam's grin just widens. Par-me-sharn. Yep. She sure did nail that. Utterly no recognition of the words in her eyes. Sad, but adorable.

He probably shouldn't, but oh he will absolutely mess with her. Sam can already tell. Poor thing. ]


That ain't coffee. That's a shit show brewed with water. But you know what? Can't dilute a war crime.

[ Sam gestures at their surroundings with his fork, though, and shrugs one shoulder. ]

Sure is my first time getting sneezed through time and space to be birthed from an egg, I'll give you that. Bit different than my usual speed. [ Somehow, it's weirder than turning to dust for 5 years. No, really. ] This though, the humanitarian crisis, the all-hands-on-deck militaristic survival stakes? Yeah, ain't my first rodeo.

[ He frowns, shakes his head briefly, then cocks an eyebrow. ]

I'm sorry, walk me back. Fright Zone?
lifetothefullest: (ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ sᴛᴜᴍʙʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴍɪsғɪʀᴇ)

wildcard because I do what I want

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-05-27 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I was told you were around here somewhere.

[Lance offers the greeting with a fake-casual tone clearly not meant to be believed, especially since he's not hiding how glad he is to see Nate. Even though Ian had informed him that Nate was in this mess with them, he hadn't actually located him yet.

But it was only a matter of time before their paths crossed, which seems to be a running theme with them at this point.]
freightcars: (181)

[personal profile] freightcars 2021-05-27 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
( He looked them up. Rebecca's still alive, and she's got two kids who have kids of their own. A tiny little pocket of family that Bucky will likely never initiate contact with, because —

Imagine looking his sister in the eyes, knowing she's probably seen the news about you and the crimes against humanity you committed. Hell, imagine looking your sister in the eyes and seeing her on the cusp of ending her twilight years, quickly fading. The last time he saw her, he was in his early twenties and she was fifteen. Helping raise her, braid her hair, size up the boys flocking around her much to her chagrin — and now she'll be lucky to last another five.

It's not just about that. It's about the trouble he brings with him, the danger that inherently surrounds him just by virtue of who he is. What he does. Getting close to them means bringing the risk to their doorstep, and...

At fifteen, he won't have made enough impression on her, he thinks, for her to think reconnecting was worth the risk. It's just not a good idea.

But it's one of the reasons why he finds such comfort in Sam's relationship with his sister. It's a little nostalgic, a little familiar.

He exhales through his nose, peeling his eyes away from Sam again.
)

Yeah. Well.

( Speaking of leaving. It almost sounds dismissive, like he might change the subject. He thinks they probably both know what he's thinking about; who he's thinking about.

Instead of shutting down, he throws out one last uncomfortable admission.
)

I lost it on Steve.

( Snarled at him in a way he's never done before. Closest comparable fight they ever had outright must've been when they were thirteen or fourteen over goddamn Stacey Chapman.

He doesn't feel good about it.
)
freightcars: (pic#14860638)

[personal profile] freightcars 2021-05-27 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
( There's a puff of breath through his nose at going back; something hard but perhaps difficult to decipher. If it's anger, if it's hurt, if it's resignation — no tone in an exhale.

Something frustrated and complex rolls through his chest like the tide, and he doesn't immediately know who it's directed at. Maybe both of them. He's not saying he changed his mind, but I've already got back what I was missing is too close to the implication for Bucky's comfort.
)

That's exactly what I didn't want to happen.

( He says finally, his tone tired and gritty-raspy like sand.

Another two or three seconds of standing there, eyes closed, connected and pretending like that momentary comfort somehow erases all the baggage he's carrying. It doesn't, and he reluctantly pulls away so he can turn and face Steve proper.

Imploringly:
)

You're gonna go have a family, Steve. You get it, that... thing, that shot, that happy ending. That's not something people like us usually get. I didn't wanna talk about it because I don't wanna be what takes that away from you. I still don't. I want you to go back. I'm just...

( Slow shake of his head.

Dealing with it.

Grieving.

Turns out it's weird to grieve somebody who happens to be across the room.
)
Edited 2021-05-27 19:47 (UTC)
freightcars: (Sʜᴏᴏᴛᴇʀs ᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴘ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ)

[personal profile] freightcars 2021-05-27 08:02 pm (UTC)(link)
( He glances down at the rifle absently, like he's double-checking to see if there's anything wrong with it or he somehow managed to break it between now and five seconds ago.

Just a rifle, so. Since they're pointing out things they think are weird, he returns with:
)

Your... light ball... things.
unclesam: ((37))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-27 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Sam looks at Bucky, brows drawing together immediately. He's honestly not surprised that Bucky's angry and poorly coping - he's been on the receiving end of that himself - but he's admittedly surprised to hear that Bucky would lash out at Steve, too.

Everything's damn fucked here, if you ask Sam, because it's just unfair. Beyond just getting dunked into this overall situation, the fact that they're all from such vastly different moments in time is painful, unfair and impossible to navigate without someone's feelings getting crushed underfoot, to say the least. It's a series of losses, too - Bucky and him lost Steve, but this Steve doesn't remember having forced that loss on them, and grief, resentment and gladness for a friend's happy ending are a heady cocktail to deal with, one that feels impossible to share with a man who can't be blamed for it no matter how you want to shake him and demand 'why did you do this to me?'. Sam lost Natasha, and frankly she's a source of painful whiplash between grief and relief, a freefall he has no control over. And Bucky... yeah. Bucky doesn't know what kind of loss he is to Sam, just has an inkling of the idea, and Sam has to remind himself to leave it at that.

Impossible. Just a line of grief and hurt feelings and confusion.

How do you rank 'acid rain' as a complication when measured against this crap?

It still baffles Sam that any scenario in which Bucky would lose it on Steve. The hell could Rogers even say or do to provoke that? And granted, Sam could ask, but that's hardly the most important question he could ask here.

The priority, as it so often is of late, instead becomes: ]


You okay?

[ It does answer the question as to Bucky seeking him out, at least - whether things with Steve are smoothed over or not, it's a good sign Bucky's reaching out after a situation like that. ]
portolan: (w e l l l l l)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-27 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
I would not be sour if I found a large bag of loose leaf tea, though I would be quite irritated if it was seeped through with that blue goo.

[ it's comforting to feel Nina's resignation at the idea of finding home wrapped in hope. he feels much the same.

I'm not optimistic about a way home, what with no one here knowing anything about it yet. But I suppose we are new, and if there are any answers, they're going to be related to those eggs.
portolan: (h a n d y)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-27 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ balthier lets alina pull him down a small corridor devoid of onlookers. he's curious -- has he hit a nerve? a secret? something she's proud of but wants to protect? he doubts she's going to try to rob him -- not that he has anything worth lifting at the moment. ]

You've got decent pirate instincts, you know. That was a lovely maneuver.
unclesam: ((124))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-27 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Right on the money.

[ Another easy smile, like they're discussing his job as a sales person with benefits and promotions. He takes the seat, committing to the conversation and the task until something else comes up. ]

Used to serve. More of a freelance agent these days.

[ Vigilante sounds nasty, and superhero sounds pompous when said to someone from a world in which caped superpowered beings might not be all that common. ]

What about you?
unclesam: ((126))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-27 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Asshole, Sam thinks with genuine goddamn fondness, when Steve kicks the shield towards him. And the fond exasperation, the sense of familiarity, hits him like a freight train out of left field, because with it comes the chasm of grief and loss that still sits in his chest, entwined with losing Natasha, layered over losing Riley, his
fresh grief over losing Bucky even when Bucky is right here, just not yet...

For a moment Sam just stands there, eyes on the shield coming right at him. He remembers the bloodied edge, tastes blood in his mouth and braces himself for Walker to cave his chest in.

Instead he breathes, gentles the pain down into himself where it belongs.

Sam doesn't catch the shield. He grabs it, and lets the momentum carry him, spin him on his own axis. He doesn't stop it and throw it so much as he just carries on its momentum and redirects it himself and back to Steve in a spin that pulls hard on his shoulders.

He's not ever going to be strong in the ways Steve, Bucky and Walker are, but that's alright. Sam was never made for the fight, he was made for the rescue. So that others may live. ]


Briefly. It's just like home. Bunch of people show up out of nowhere. Supply chains collapse, people are driven to the brink. Only a matter of time before something strains too hard and someone snaps. People in power not accounting for the people they take from who were already struggling.
neversmall: (Default)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-27 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Perhaps. [ She's not convinced - she keeps thinking of the way Captain Childe had spoken about the Chrysalis. ] It's not a bad place to start. I've never seen technology like this place has, have you? I'm very curious about what, exactly, caused the "hatching".
portolan: (a r m s c r o s s e d)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-27 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
We have some overlap in Ivalice -- large flying ships and giant monsters at least. But I've never encountered people being transported across worlds, especially not into the eggs of a dead beast.

[ they cross out of the main area onto the path to the chrysalis. the high desert air pervades even here, sharp and dry. that, at least, feels like home, or at least the home of his pirating days. ]
sunmon: (Default)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-27 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Point taken.

[ she looks at least a little more comfortable, then. they're both out of their element, on some level. that established, she nods ahead to indicate moving on, then starts that way. they still have a scientist to find.

or a body.
]

Don't spread it around the basecamp. [ an important disclaimer. ] People get weird ideas about grisha power.
sunmon: (pic#14852750)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-27 11:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she snorts. ] I'll bear that in mind while considering second careers.

[ this will be funny next season.

she gives one more look around, then puts her back towards the busier side of the alley and holds her hands up between them.
]

It's easier to show you. We don't have names for them. [ the little orb of light swells in her hand like a tiny sun. just a little. not enough to draw attention. but like always, it energizes her, and now that she has the hang of it, alina finds that it's harder to keep it small than to let it grow. she yokes it, for now. ]
neversmall: (009)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-27 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Interesting. She wonders what that'd be like to say - Used to serve. She wonders what exactly freelance means - she supposes she'd be freelancing with any work she did after... if she and Matthias'd had the chance to follow through with their plan.

She doesn't feel any threat off of Sam. This is the sort of conversation that needs to happen in order to build something. But it's strange to explain the sort of things that have never needed explanation. ]


I serve in the Second Army. Or - served, I suppose. [ Says the person who probably looks least like a soldier in this entire encampment who is over the age of 14. And the distinction is important, between serve and served, because her general is here and he no longer has the sole command of her loyalty. ] We are not at war here.
neversmall: (100)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-27 11:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Nina moves to give Alina her space, smiling at the other girl's release of joy; it's nice to see. ] Sounds terrifying. Better you than me.

[ She takes a seat on the roof, setting her tin down beside her, then puts both hands behind her to lean against them and glance up... at the wings of the dragon. ]

It's strange not to see the stars.