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!.

northerndragon: (Default)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-06-03 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[He shakes his head, then meets her gaze.]

The North knows of it. I meant that I haven’t spoken of it to you before. And I don’t know much more of your life than you do of mine.

But aye, they speak for themselves, kill for themselves. Kill anything and everything. They ride dead horses. It’s worse than the stories.
angerberg: (pic#14132774)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-03 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she does not allow the confusion to touch her expression. rather, the question passes through her eyes without ever creasing her perfect face — more a study of him to try and help her learn more than anything else.

she settles for, quite firmly,
]

You've never asked about mine. And while I mourn for your North, I believe you will find no undead here.
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14852850)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-06-03 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
No.

The front is probably more of a home to me than the Little Palace ever will be.

( a sad truth considering all the effort he put into building it. all that time and care. )
sunmon: (pic#14849343)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-04 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ there's plenty for a general to do in the little palace. paperwork, oversight, politics. the sorts of maneuvering and leadership that no one would question kirigan was good at. the sorts of manipulating that alina now knows he excels at. it's curious that he would avoid it. ​]

Not a fan of politics? [ she drags the blade down his face in a clean line. ] Or not a fan of the king? [ she realizes it's too direct, too guiding. she meets his gaze. ]
neversmall: (003)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-04 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...so very, very odd. But again - they seem happy enough, so... okay.

Nina smiles at them both. ]


I don't think I got your name earlier. I'm Nina Zenik.
neversmall: (Default)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-04 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina defaults to schedules and doing certain things in certain order - the fault of her raising in the Little Palace, no doubt. She already has a bit of an order going on for her days, and her lips quirk a little thing about it. ]

You'll likely find me at the Aid Station, then. If it's not busy, I should be able to go for a bit of a break.
sunmon: (Default)

[personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-04 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
I'll come find you, then.

[ for the first time, alina actually looks unburdened. her grin is unabashed, and her mood is light. it feels almost normal — settling in, making plans. for the moment, she can forget about her burgeoning sainthood and the black general and his plans.

she is just a girl making friends over biscuits and study time. perhaps that studying is on the subject of her grisha power, but the point remains.
]
neversmall: (002)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-04 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
Excellent.

[ She leans one hand behind her back and closes her eyes to savor the rest of her biscuit. It's not a bad night's work, all told - bridges being built, pasts being shared, the shapes of mysteries growing more defined. The stark contrast between Alina's desire to return to Ravka and her own rather more complacent view of it is something a little disturbing to Nina now that it's come to light; her duty is clear, and here she still has a duty, so she should go about attending to it.

But she thinks of the wolf probably prowling around looking for her to sleep under her hammock and Matthias' laugh at the small ghost picture, 'Why did they give it eyes,' and the whole breadth of the world left to uncover, and she does not regret. ]
Edited 2021-06-04 01:06 (UTC)
neversmall: (Default)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-04 01:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina winces. ]

Oh dear. That somehow makes it worse.
northerndragon: (you made something impossible happen)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-06-04 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
I hope that’s true. I hope we will find none here.

[He has caught the strange look in her eyes, but he doesn’t know what it means. There had been a time when he thought he understood her, and then a time when he realized that what he understood was, in some ways, a mask. But he doesn’t know if that has anything to do with their lives now.]

I’m asking now. Back where you were raised, in your real life... what was it like?
figlia_morbida: ([comfort zone])

[personal profile] figlia_morbida 2021-06-04 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
[SHE WAS PRETENDING! THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ACTUAL SKILL! She will refute him at every turn. Trish will do many things, but digging toilettes is not of them and never will be.

She doesn't miss the fact he seems happy with her answer, for a given value of how "happy" Bruno can look with a face that serious. She's sure he wouldn't want her loafing about at any rate, and she would admittedly go insane doing nothing at all. Even if it will take time to get used to singing in front of people this embattled. Singing for your schoolmates is an entirely different beat...

Trish can't judge him for being prideful, at any rate, considering what she can be like herself. And Bruno is extremely skilled at what he does, both as a gangster and as a Stand user...he's had years to master his synergy with Sticky Fingers and it shows.

She hums.
]

Have you shown them your ability? I wondered about doing that...but our Stands are bound to us, so if they were scared of our powers, they couldn't take them away.

[Which could be a huge trust deterrent.

As far as Trish knows, no one else has any powers! But they do have small robots.
]
figlia_morbida: ([word up])

[personal profile] figlia_morbida 2021-06-04 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Honestly...how did this boy get clothes like that if he didn't make them? Trish supposes she can believe in a world that horrendously unfashionable, but that's painful!!

That being said, this guy just gets stranger and stranger...at least the commotion from before has abated, if only because people are starting to disperse now that they've gotten their shares.

Trish crosses her arms over her own, hugging it to her chest.
]

No, I guess it's not.

[Her mother always made them with pizzazz in mind, which is entirely inappropriate here. Although picturing this dead-eyed man in something that practically blinds with glitz is a funny, unbidden thought.]

I wonder if we weren't brought here for that reason...because we have something this place needs. [She shakes her head. She's mostly thinking to herself...] But it still feels like an accident.

[Abruptly, she frees a hand to point a finger at him.]

Hey, I change my mind. What I want in return for that shirt is for you to bring it to me if you ruin it so I can fix it. I still feel responsible for it, so do that and we're even.
figlia_morbida: ([roundabout])

[personal profile] figlia_morbida 2021-06-04 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh my god he's never heard of Italy.

Trish drops her hand, freeing Cal of his questioning-at-fork-point.

She knows space travel is technically possible but it's also not often feasible, considering how difficult it is...so this gentleman is from somewhere they can just, space travel around at will. That's wild.

Trish doesn't hide her awe at his response, blinking before quietly responding:
]

...Italy is a country on the planet Earth. It's where I'm from.

[There's people bad enough at geography she COULD believe someone from another country just up and forgot Italy existed, but Cal doesn't strike her as the type.]

Which means you're from another planet entirely, doesn't it?
figlia_morbida: ([word up])

[personal profile] figlia_morbida 2021-06-04 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, this is an interesting one. Nina asks this in a way Trish expects for a secondary school student...does she seem older to people who don't know her? Is that what's happening?

How to explain...
]

The...usual, you could say. Core subjects like math and literature. I wasn't old enough to pick for myself yet.

[And she dropped out, but. Details!

She gestures to Nina.
]

If that got your interest, I have to ask: are you an academic, or just curious?

[Nina is well spoken...so Trish assumes she must be educated. There's not a lot of types of people that walk into a theatre on purpose!!!]
spalten: (pic#14544807)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-06-04 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not worried; he's rather predictable.

[ a creature of simple wants and needs, whose trajectory can be traced from one source, one doctrine. one tragic event, one unfortunate meeting.

perhaps that's fate, though vidar doesn't know if he can believe it entirely.

in any case he's content to let the topic go. ]
Anyway. What were you up to, before you arrived here?
morozova: (pic#14874493)

i'm sorry for the late. i've had no laptop for a week.

[personal profile] morozova 2021-06-04 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
They've been asking for assistance with harvesting herbs.

( he'd been happy enough to answer the call if only for the excuse to get away from camp. the acid rain remains a concern, as does the fact that everything about this place seems to want them dead, but he'd caught a glimpse of the adamant proper. a remarkable sight, that. one very nearly as impressive as the dragon, itself.

he pauses, considering her, eyes slightly narrowed. )


Are you sure you're all right, Nina? You seem, ( he pauses, searching for the right word to use. ) tense.
lifetothefullest: (ᴛʀʏ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴀɴᴅᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴇᴘ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-06-04 11:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[Lance works on finishing up the stitches, and he's glad he's almost done because he's very interested in this conversation. He catches that brief discomfort, and although he doesn't know the actual cause, the explanation Matthias gives about Grisha being dangerous is reason enough.

As for the last comment--]


Why?

[Not just why would they be using their powers to be dangerous--that makes sense in certain situations--but why is it often enough to be what Matthias knows them for?]
angerberg: (pic#14132775)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-04 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ how did one summarize nearly eighty years to an utter foreigner? she certainly isn't going to give an answer that makes her vulnerable. yennefer's mouth twitches, worrying through the problem. ]

War. Politics. Magic. Monsters. [ she makes it all sound very droll and uninteresting. as if it were duller than needlepoint. ]
angerberg: (pic#14132775)

[personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-04 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Winning a war. Unremarkable by your standards, I imagine. What's a little land next to a planet?

[ but sodden was something. a stronghold that could keep nilfgaard out of the north, perhaps. but maybe that was only the mages fooling themselves. cintra had fallen, after all. ]
neversmall: (127)

all good!

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-04 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Lying convincingly is very easy; telling the truth when it matters is far more difficult. She hasn't been trying to hide, and if he is providing a convenient bridge for her she may as well walk over it.

Dead weight in her stomach or no. ]


There is another matter of some importance to me. [ The formula of talking to a Superior Officer serves her well, especially since she really, really does not want to do this. But she needs to do this. ] It relates to why I survived the shipwreck, and where I've been the past few weeks.
spalten: (pic#14544816)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-06-04 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Some themes are universal. Whether on Earth or elsewhere, people are still fighting over little lands that they can have and keep.

[ vidar sighs as he says it. ] Regardless, it's a familiar situation to me as well. I was in the middle of one.
neversmall: (004)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-06-05 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, just curious. [ Nina gives a little half shrug and a smile. ] Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you first meet someone on a strange planet, from a different world? Ask getting-to-know-you questions?
northerndragon: (dashing)

cw Game of Thrones

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-06-05 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
Doesn’t sound much different than mine.

[He says it drily, with a hint of regret. But what he remembers of her... she had told him that she was the same woman. He’s not sure that was true then, and he’s definitely not sure it’s true now. That woman would play off anything that mattered. Being untroubled was like armor for her.

But he remembers a night, once, years ago and half-dreamed, when she had let him see more than she usually would have. At two removes, is that still who she really is?]


Tell me of the magic.

[Not, he hopes, something that involved giving little girls to a fire god.]
morozova: @axisandallies (Default)

sorry for being so late, i've had no computer for over a week!

[personal profile] morozova 2021-06-05 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
She lived to a ripe old age, of course.

( he glances at her sidelong, wonders if she'll try to stop him if it comes to it. )

You're not curious?

wittingly: (Dʀᴇᴀᴍs ᴏғ ʟᴏɴᴇʟɪɴᴇss)

[personal profile] wittingly 2021-06-05 10:03 pm (UTC)(link)
( It's fair to say Ian has special interests in intoxicants; he spent a good deal of his pre-grad years screwing around with psychedelics, he's a regular pot smoker, and arguably a functional alcoholic in times of extreme stress. However, honestly, he's just clever and talkative in general. There are a couple dozen subjects he could ramble on about forever. He used to be a guest lecturer at a college, it became an ingrained trait over time.

She might regret engaging with him soon. Sorry, Mops.

On the bright side, he's also incredibly patient. Not the kind of listener that's just waiting for his turn to talk again, he's legitimately curious and rapt in his attention. Perceptive enough, even, to start connecting a few similar looking dots.

He's calm and careful with his approach, polite and unobtrusive as he gently ventures:
)

You wouldn't happen to have black blood, would you? If that's offensive, feel free to say shut the fuck up, Ian. I'll totally change the subject.