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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!.

morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14852855)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-05-30 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
They failed and she called the river down on them all, drowning them instead.

( despite the grimness of the story, this would be considered a happy ending for the false saint. the actual ursula—ulla, his little sister—had not had such a happy end.

he pushes to his feet, then. begins to toe-off his boots. )


Nobody knows what became of her, after that.
neversmall: (097)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-30 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
None. [ Patting her Convenient Excuse on the head, she smiles up at Matthias. ] And I'm not going to stop asking you to let me split what we give him, either. [ She sobers a little - ] Really, Matthias, you should let me.
unclesam: ((106))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-30 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Pretty spry for 76.

[ Sam knows he might well be playing 'how fast can I get myself yeeted into the acid rain' here, but he can't quite help it with the way the dude just tosses him a number and he's apparently supposed to call him that. ]

Look, that ain't a name, that's like... a call sign, or a baseball uniform number.

[ Last chance to give him a name. Sam's gonna default to shitty nicknames otherwise. Maybe baseball related now that he's already seeded that out there. Might not be too bad.

Yeah that might just happen anyway, come to think of it, now that he's striding alongside the man. ]
morozova: @axisandallies (Default)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-05-30 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
We have similar stories.

( it's debatable, of course, whether or not they're true but he knows of at least one dragon-shaped thing, and it haunts the bone road, waiting for someone brave enough—or foolish enough—to kill it. )

Though the creatures in them are generally not so peaceable.
freightcars: (ɪs ᴀ ᴠᴇssᴇʟ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴀs)

[personal profile] freightcars 2021-05-30 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, well...

( He mutters dismissively, as though though that somehow negates the thick uncomfortable feeling winding around his lungs like a snake.

It's the damn hand on his shoulder. Apparently he's susceptible to touch, because it keeps breaking down his fortifications lately. Takes a sledgehammer straight to his walls.
)

He left you, too.

( He glances over, making it a point to impress that he knows he's not the only one hurting over it. To go from being on the run with a guy and seeing him every day for two years to having him up and walk out of your life in a single day? Leaving him alone to navigate the shield, and reacclimate to the five years where the world went on without him.

But honestly, that's not... important. Neither of them, he means. What's messing with him right now is more--
)

I think I screwed up. I think I shot his happy ending in the foot 'cause I couldn't keep my mouth shut. So that's... you know. That's great. Feel great about that.

( He plows on a half-second later, barely a pause, leveling Sam with an incredulous look. )

How in the hell do you do it? Your whole...

( Vague... helpless... shrug. )

It's like you have some kind of goddamn manual on saying the right thing at the right time, it's unbelievable. What is it, like, yoga? What?
neversmall: (003)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-30 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Nina blinks. Oi, you! Quit pointing your empathy beams at her, she doesn't know how to deal with it. It's... very odd to see all this understanding reaching out to try to connect with the core of her, and sense no insincerity, no intention to manipulate or use. It's honestly as strange to her as she imagines this "English" language she keeps hearing about would be.

She doesn't hesitate more than a blink, but she does choose:
- Draw back
- Put up a front
- Open the door a cautious crack ]


It's certainly different. [ She tilts her head a little to the side, considering him. Her hands slow in their task. ] How long have you been 'freelancing'?
unclesam: ((108))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-30 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Yeah, he did.

[ And Sam squeezes Bucky's shoulder in response to that glance, with a small nod. Quiet gratitude and acknowledgment. Feels good to be seen - feels better to be understood. There's the Bucky who quietly slips into the engine room of the boat in the pale light of morning to help. Feels good to see him again.

He's gonna table the whole 'screwed up happy ending' line for a second though, because Bucky barrels straight ahead into yoga for some reason, and Sam just... Sam just laughs. The shift in conversation takes him by surprise and he can't help the way amusement bubbles straight out of him in a small moment of levity that just feels good. ]


Thanks, man. If I say yeah, sure, it's yoga, are you gonna try it? 'cause I'm gonna set Redwing on your ass permanently to catch that. Screw perimeter checks.

[ Sam shakes his head, eyes still bright. ]

Listen... dunno the rules of getting yolked through space and time, but... I really don't think you ruined shit. Remember, that's why Steve had to go and put the stones back. 'Cause... taking them out didn't change our timeline, but it created a whole movie franchise worth of little timeline offsprings or whatever. You know what Banner said.

[ Maybe. Sam stopped listening to Banner halfway through, truth be told. ]

We're still here, we still remember the same thing happening. And that means it happened for whatever reason and in whatever manner. You're not some... agent of chaos rewriting history.

[ Sam leans in, eyebrows going up. ]

You're okay, Buck. Shocking, I know. Cyborg brain's on fire, house still hasn't burned down.
portolan: (a r m s c r o s s e d)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-30 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, never met a sky pirate before, I see.

[ his companion's short to-the-point replies remind him of fran. ]

What did you fall out of, then?
unclesam: ((133))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-30 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Well...

[ Sam takes a step to the side. With a soft mechanical whir, his wings unfold seamlessly from the thruster pack on his back. They're thick metal and quite large, and yet move with a fluidity that's almost weightless, trembling slightly in the breeze while Sam looks up the cliff. ]

Propulsion. We go straight up. Just depends on how you prefer to be carried. Not on my back.

[ He turns a little, so that Jon can see the thruster pack lighting up blue. Being carried on Sam's back is not an option unless someone wants to have their everything burned straight off. ]
freightcars: (191)

[personal profile] freightcars 2021-05-30 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
( The outright laugh's unexpected, and it earns an involuntary little twitch to his lips right after — like he's conceding to the humor in the moment, if reluctantly. Set Redwing on your ass earns no snark this time, just an exasperated half-hearted shake of the head.

The pleasant lightness of relief doesn't manage to stick around permanently; a little lingers, but a lot of it fades as they slip back into talk about time and space.

Didn't change our timeline.
)

That should probably make me feel a little better than it does.

( He mutters, and despite the words it does actually sound relieved. It's nice to go from feeling screwed up over two things to just one, but that selfish part of him that still wishes Steve wouldn't have left perseveres. There's no solving all of it, though. There's just picking a lane.

But anyway, enough about his shit.
)

How about you? How are you coping? And if you just say fine you're gonna ruin this bonding moment, so... be honest.
portolan: (h a n d y)

Wildcard - Maps

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-30 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ apparently villagers and a few new recruits keep getting lost on their way to search out herbs. balthier mentioned his cartography and navigation skills at camp one day, and next thing he knew he'd been recruited to create a more reliable guide to the herb's locations.

he has a waterproof container -- which he has to give back when this adventure is over, the foreman was very clear about that -- with paper, pencils, a compass, and a ruler. he also has instructions to wait for a partner, someone with stronger drawing skills, so they can document what some of the plants look like.

it's early morning, just past dawn. the desert air is chill this time of day, and the moisture released from the night's photosynthesis hasn't quite evaporated yet. a few stars are still visible in the sky. balthier breathes in deeply. this is the peace of the skies, the feeling he'd been chasing at 16, the quiet he hasn't felt in a year.

he stays focused on the sweetness of breathing in that air and not the pain of the five people who aren't here with him.
]

unclesam: ((71))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-30 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ You won't catch him admitting it, but Sam's grateful. He has to work up the stamina to keep pulling alongside the likes of Steve and Bucky, but he also knows his body is, at the end of the day, only human - top shape or nah. And he'd rather slow his roll that end up accidentally catching the shield with his teeth.

At the question, Sam's lips press together. ]


Ain't about the number so much. The aid station's short on everything, man. One more person can tip the scale on the wrong day, y'know?

[ Sam catches the shield, holds it for a moment. ]

It's been five years back home, right. No borders. People just helping each other out, 'cause everything was a mess. So five years later, people pop back into existence out of nowhere. Maybe someone else moved into your house. Maybe borders were moved. People you knew are now older. People died while you were gone. Where do you start cleaning up that mess? Do you kick out the person who now lives in your house, or do you accept that even though it was yours yesterday, it's now been someone else's for five years? What do you do when borders fell away and suddenly there are people back in power who tell you 'nevermind the past five years, borders go back up'. What do you do when for five years, you were free, and now you get pushed out and pushed away, 'cause favor is given to the returned? Steve, it's the same damn people who get trampled underfoot, every time.

[ Sam licks his lips briefly, brows furrowing. His thoughts are on Karli. ]

Don't matter if it's a small inconvenience or a large strain. It piles up, especially if you never get to have a say in how your life gets rearranged. People weren't asked to donate clothes to us, you know. They were taken. And sure, we need them - don't mean the people who's dead loved one's stuff we're getting without their say don't get to be upset about that.
Edited 2021-05-30 17:03 (UTC)
portolan: (g r i m a c e)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-30 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I've never much believed in fate myself. Coincidence and being able to capitalize on opportunity most often, methinks.

[ more gravely. ] I hope it's merely accident. I don't want to meet the entity that could do this intentionally.
sunmon: (Default)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-30 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, a dead dragon brought us here. Maybe a live one could send us back.

[ it's not her best plan, admittedly, because the particulars of actually engaging a live dragon are occurring to her in stages on her expression now that nina has pointed it out. but maybe they could capture it? ]
portolan: (i d l e)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-05-30 05:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I've found that, when choosing between bitterness and joy, things tend to go more smoothly if I mine the latter.

[ moreso, he remembers the times things have been worse. he's clothed, he's not on anyone's list for a manhunt, he has food and shelter, he has his gun and his magic. still... ]

Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though.
sunmon: (8)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-05-30 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she considers him then, quiet. as if it had not occurred to her that maybe he was, in fact, struggling like the rest of them, and merely managing it better. she frowns a little. ]

I find that I seldom want things that inspire bitterness to go smoothly.
unclesam: ((122))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-30 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, so that's how you gonna do me? Just flip this around on me. That's what I get for letting you see me use my words, huh?

[ Sam lets the time travel talk drop, because yeah - there's no easy answer there, and no real fix for the hurt they've both endured. The hurt they are still enduring. If he could give Bucky some perspective, to just... jostle the weight on his shoulders into a slightly less crushing position? That's about as much as he thinks he can hope to achieve right now.

But Sam's teasing here - he appreciates the check-in, honestly, even if it almost catches him off guard. ]


Honestly? Trying to keep busy so I don't stop to think about some things too hard. Easy to do here. Between the aid station and trying to calm some emotions running high among the locals and the weird dreams and trying to keep an eye on shit... Goddamn cried when it really hit me that Tasha's here. [ He feels like he took something from Steve that Steve never gave him. That, though, he doesn't share with Bucky. A soft, drawn out sigh. Sam flicks his eyes back up to Bucky. ] I feel conflicted. 'cause I feel like there's shit I need to catch you up on, but you got plenty to juggle here.

[ It's not a fine, it's not... a complete gulf of honesty. It's not 'I'm coming apart at the seems and I don't know how to cope'. But it's an admission that maybe, just maybe, he's running himself a little ragged, too. ]
spalten: (pic#14544675)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-05-30 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
That would be quite the trick, though whether or not you're welcome to return is something else entirely, isn't it? Does anyone want the Adamant at all? This seems like a permanent goodbye.

Though not quite content to leave on bad terms, Vidar at least offers this -

I've a spare compact nuclear reactor in my mobile suit. I can offer you that much. I'd like care to be exercised in removing it - it's a stubborn machine, very protective, and not fond of guests at all. Rather thoughtfully, he adds, and not without hesitation - At least the pilot is more charming than that.

In exchange, I'll have you repay it in what you think is a reasonable. We'll be here together for quite some time, after all.
If he didn't have the mask, he'd be smiling, but Vidar never quite learned how not to smile like he's not one of the Seven Stars, so maybe it's best that she doesn't see that after all.
unclesam: ((77))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-30 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Nah, Redwing's not any sort of android.

[ Sam taps something on his wrist controls, and Redwing hovers down, lands on the table between them. ]

Just your regular, high tech recon and combat drone.

[ Not regular at all, but well. Explaining vibranium and wakanda might take things a bit too far.

Either way, should Cal or BD-1 check, they will not be able to identify what kind of metal Redwing's made of. ]


What, yours got an AI?
fossils: (pic#7652187)

[personal profile] fossils 2021-05-30 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe someone else moved into your house. Maybe borders were moved. People you knew are now older. People died while you were gone.

There's parts of that explanation that he understands a little too intimately. Waking up to a changed world. His old block unrecognized, the last place he'd called home demolished. Nearly everyone he'd known and cared about gone in the blink of an eye.

It's not the same, though.

Steve, it's the same damn people who get trampled underfoot, every time.

He listens, watching Sam as he continues. The world's been in a state of turmoil long before Thanos showed up and tore it in half. Natasha and Bucky painted the same rough picture for him earlier while he was still trying to wrap his head around seeing the stones destroyed to you fix it.

He's not, for what it's worth, and has never been a blind optimist. When he implies they'll figure things out here, it's because he knows there's no other choice. He's only got one retractable shield now because he handed the other one over to Rémi.

There's a pause after Sam finishes, and Steve inclines his head toward him. ]


So what's our next move?

[ Not at all a challenge, just a direct question made with respect for the guy across from him. Made in trust. ]
neversmall: (061)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-30 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Nina takes a breath and then lets it out slowly, trying to clear her head. There are too many questions and not enough of anything close to facts. In the next minute she's going to find herself speculating about spirits and things she doesn't believe in - just for the sake of the familiar. She needs to clear her head and see, allow herself to get comfortable enough with the uncomfortable feeling of knowing so little, being so far from home and the people she loves that she can see what there's actually there to see. ]

Did you hear anything about the Chrysalis?
psychometries: (115)

[personal profile] psychometries 2021-05-30 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
If he had access to the intranet here, he could probably cross-reference his scans and get a lot more data.

[ But, so far, the survivors haven't given up access. BD-1 could probably slice into it, but... Cal sees no reason to go against their decisions and potentially make them angry. Trust is built slowly, over time. He can't really blame the survivors for being wary of him and the other "hatchlings," since he would probably feel the exact same way in their shoes.

His gaze moves back and forth between Illumi and BD-1, a small, thoughtful frown on his face, though his tone of voice is relaxed. Much as Cal loves BD-1, droids are so commonplace in his galaxy that they're completely mundane to him. If someone is calling him "impressive"... ]


I'm guessing you don't have droids where you come from?
neversmall: (051)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-30 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Nina knows that she said it was the captain's turn - and it is, she'll happily answer any questions she thinks would not compromise Grisha and Ravka (which are like... any questions, because they're not even on the same world as those concerns anymore...) - but she's so surprised by this, it's all so strange that she has to ask: "Has the Chrysalis ever done anything so powerful like this before, that you think it's not only what brought us here but something that altered our very minds?"

Because that. Is terrifying. What the heck is it?
unclesam: ((146))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-05-30 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Sam's brain is spinning elsewhere entirely. He doesn't even notice that the question is pitched to him, or why that should strike him as unusual. But then, other people never got that Sam's always been more than a blindly loyal follower to Steve. Even Bucky doesn't know that Sam didn't follow Steve when it came to the Accords, but that Sam vocally opposed them before Steve voiced his opinion. The reason he often follows Steve is because their values so often align like that.

If he were opposed to something Steve does, truly opposed to it - he wouldn't fall in line for Cap. Sam's a stubborn, authority bucking asshole like that.

They got that in common. ]


I gotta talk to Nat about getting us off the public network, 'cause I could do without the general public or the people in charge having a permanent line to what we discuss. Plus I wanna interface Redwing and Buckabee so I can share recon info with you guys. Gather our own intel that doesn't rely on what the people in power deem worthy of sharing.

[ His fingers flex on the shield, restless, and Sam makes an all-encompassing gesture. ]

Meanwhile, we make ourselves of service to the community. These people need help, and we can show up for them, from fixing people up in the aid station to re-inforcing some walls. I don't care what Captain Childe and Major Buttclench tell me not to do, I ain't gonna stand idly by, especially when there's already people kicking up noise over their dead loved ones' possession getting redistributed without their input. Couple of egg folk are beginning to organize hunting parties to shore up supplies, and we gotta start organizing expeditions into the old ship to salvage things to bring back, and I don't care about currying favor with the captain - I care about giving something back to the people we're taking from. If we bulldoze over them to integrate ourselves with the captain to make our lives easier, it ain't worth it. That's how you earn yourself unrest. So we make sure those voices are heard, and we help where we can.

[ Somewhere in that, he started pacing, but stops abruptly, frowning and Steve and gesturing towards him briefly. ]

Man, what are you asking me that for? I know you know this.
Edited 2021-05-30 19:31 (UTC)
fossils: (pic#9289786)

[personal profile] fossils 2021-05-30 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's like bumping a brick wall. He meets her sideways glance with a raised eyebrow as they walk. ]

Doing alright.

[ Yeah.

He frowns for a second, his gaze fixing hard on something at the top of her head. ]