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!.

capt_childe: (Default)

[personal profile] capt_childe 2021-06-14 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
She laughs. It's a bleak sound. Tired. He's trying to be gentle about it, but it still comes off as a lecture, and she is spectacularly tired of these people trying to tell her what to do.

"We aren't actually military. We're... an exploratory force. Peaceful. The Adamant was commissioned by a civilian family. More cruise ship than cavalry." She'd been in the Navy, but it's not quite the same thing. She doesn't look at her people and see soldiers the way she would have fifteen years ago.

"The Doc does what she can. But the only trained counsellors we had died in the crash. We encourage... talking. I think you'd probably call it group therapy. Every other Sunday. And we have a few people who are studying what they can from Cartagena's databases, but it's slow-going given how little free time we have. It's a whole lot of people doing their best when their best isn't enough." This doesn't sound like a scathing critique, just the worn-down honesty of someone who knows they're fighting a losing battle. She thought she'd put all that behind her, but the past has a funny way of catching up with you.

"Thorkil's probably the best at it. He saw a lot of action in the Slipscale Wars. He's got a knack for pulling people aside and getting them to talk. Frankly, if that's what you're worried about you'd be better off talking to him anyway. I'm the brain, he's the soul." By that metric, Sunya can only be the heart and God knows what that makes Rémi. The intestines, maybe.
capt_childe: (NEUTRAL - PROFILE)

[personal profile] capt_childe 2021-06-14 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
The fact that the girl relents actually has an effect on her. Childe leans back in her chair and something visibly relaxes in the set of her shoulders. It's clear that she's tired of fighting people on this, so the acceptance and capitulation is as near a godsend as anything ever is on this shitty little mudball world. "Thank you," she returns, with a nod.

"Etheria... was it anything like this? That's a strange coincidence of a name." Not that such things don't happen, but she'd rather explore every option. "I know a lot of people are from various points in Earth's history, it wouldn't shock me to learn that someone was from this world in its past or future, either."

She focuses on that for now, though the rest certainly does not go unnoticed. It's not surprising the girl's a leader, she reminds Childe far too much of herself at that age, getting into the Slipscale Wars before she knew just how over her head it was going to be.
capt_childe: (NEUTRAL)

[personal profile] capt_childe 2021-06-14 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
"You probably took it exactly the right way, which is to say I'm not going to apologize for treating people who show up unannounced in the middle of my very vulnerable camp of refugees like a potential threat. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." Her tone is very wry, indicating that she is not in fact sorry at all. "I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, and I plan on letting you all out once I've determined you're not a threat, or host to any diseases that could wipe out my camp, but keeping my people safe is my priority. You'll survive a few days in a cage."

She makes notes on her little tablet, and then pushes it away from her with a sigh.

"And no, but at least it gives me a ballpark. So thank you for that. Am I going to get a name out of you, or is that more of a thumbscrews endeavor?"
capt_childe: (Default)

[personal profile] capt_childe 2021-06-14 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Anything you could offer would be appreciated, trust me." She says that with a wry shake of her head, and then nods. "I wouldn't want to take away from your personal time. We may not have much of it here, but we work very hard to have a balance, so dedicate the time you're comfortable with and spend the rest of it doing... whatever it is you plan to get up to, I suppose."

Honestly, she has no clue what these people might be interested in doing. Where their desires lay. The majority of them seem human, but that doesn't necessarily mean much in the way of how they express themselves. Humans have had some pretty varied hobbies over the millennia.
portolan: (a r m s c r o s s e d)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-06-14 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
[ Balthier's hands deftly flake dried goo from the contours of Fran's lightspeeder. It comes off easily, leaving the exposed machine below clean and gleaming. He can hardly believe his luck.

He's less surprised by the way his heart pulls. He wants this to mean that Fran is here too, but it's been several weeks, and he's had an ear out. If a six foot tall Black woman with white hair and rabbit ears were here, he'd have heard about it.

Still, this is a huge help, and it shouldn't be too hard to dig out. He fishes through the other caked lumps to find ammo for his gun and a favorite sword that he learned to use while he was working with Ashe and the others last year.

He digs through the final pile and nearly yelps. There's a small opalescent stone there, a lab experiment with unfortunate levels of success that led to the death of thousands of people.

It led to him killing his own father, less than a month ago.

He doesn't know what to do. It's impossible to destroy without causing the equivalent of a nuclear explosion. He doesn't want it to fall in other hands. But having it too near disrupts the Mist, and quite frankly, disrupts his sense of self.

There's no one here now, so he loads the ammo and sword onto his belt and turns back to Nina, aware he's stalling his own decision even as he justifies it as doing the gentlemanly thing and checking on the lady. As he approaches her, he sees the tension in her body.
]

Everything all right?
unfastens: (to play as saints)

[personal profile] unfastens 2021-06-14 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ trust no bitch is a lifestyle!! welcome, trish ...

he sees her getting nervous again, even if he's not sure why. As always, he's not very good at assuring her or even having a regular conversation with her. (In his defense, he thinks, he doesn't even remember the last time he had extended interactions with a teenage girl. There aren't a lot of those connected to the mob.) At least he notices this time. ]


It matters. Even if you don't feel like it does right now. One day, you'll look back at the choices you've made - and if you can do that without regrets, then it mattered.

[ That's how he always lives his life. He leans over, resting his elbows on his thighs and tenting his fingers. ]

Nothing's certain here. Your own judgement is all you've got, so trust it. It's my judgement that Illumi isn't dangerous to us now. [ a beat. He looks over at Trish, smiling faintly. ] ... And that you're a good singer.
unfastens: (catch a kiss)

[personal profile] unfastens 2021-06-14 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ not that he knows to sympathize, but Bruno's got a similar hole about four men wide at the moment - he'll feel the cold air blowing through that hollow later, when he has more time to think about his status here.

The pirate moniker gets him to raise a brow. That's something he doesn't hear every day - but it's not out of the question. He's been involved in plenty of seafaring smuggling operations. Balthier must be involved in even more dangerous skirmishes; he's imagining the modern pirates of Somalia or similar. ]


Sadly, I'm fresh out of cards, too. Bruno Bucciarati - just Bucciarati is fine. The pleasure's mine, signor Balthier.

[ professional, as always! he holds a hand out for a shake. ]

Introducing yourself as a criminal is quite the bold move.
unfastens: (the tyranny)

[personal profile] unfastens 2021-06-14 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
Some sort of robot, then...? Huh.

[ he supposes that's, like, the least weird thing he's seen here so far, so he accepts it pretty readily. At Sam's reassurance, he waves a hand. ]

I wasn't concerned about that. You're fine. [ if this guy tried putting something in him, he'd just zip himself open and take it out... ] It sounds like a good plan, actually. Let's do it.
unfastens: (full of nonbelievers)

[personal profile] unfastens 2021-06-14 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ he's found he usually catches more flies with honey, but he recognizes what Illumi's doing, too. Intimidation can be useful. Maybe not for getting a job, but useful. (Then again, he supposes it worked on him when Giorno beat his ass...)

anyway, Illumi's words are deeply concerning. He can tell the other man isn't lying, and combined with the fact that Bruno can't rule it out based on his knowledge base, either - he can imagine a Stand with that kind of power, seeing as he already knows of Stands that can send people to other dimensions or manipulate time - essentially cements it as a possibility. He frowns. ]


For our sakes, we'd better hope it's not something like that. That kind of ability would make someone a practical god.

[ but he has a bad feeling about it. the eggs were too weird!! ]
cryptoherpetology: (023)

[personal profile] cryptoherpetology 2021-06-14 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
Alex gathers his thoughts for several moments, sizing the captain up from behind the lenses of his glasses. Just what does humanity become in the future, he wonders- explorers or conquerors? He probably should have payed more attention to those science fiction shows Antimony liked so much.

"I have to admit, Captain, that I wasn't raised to be particularly comfortable around law enforcement or military organizations, but given the circumstances, I think the best chances for survival here is to pool resources wherever possible. If your crew doesn't mind someone who has a lot of catch-up reading to do, I'm willing to consult your crew on anything you or they feel would benefit from my input; be it related to my field of study or... unorthodox upbringing."

And spending time with the crew should help him figure out if he's camping out with interstellar war criminals or not. Feeling the need to add something a bit diplomatic to his offer, he adds, with a small smile; "Honestly, just getting to hear people call me 'Doctor Price' instead of my latest assumed surname is enough of a novelty it should be worth giving up a little spare time now and then."
trassel: (14.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-06-14 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
Matthias is Tall. Matthias is also well-built, thanks, intense childhood thirst for vengeance, and hard military training. He lights up a room, one could say.

'Not weird,' Matthias assures him first. It's one thing to have a strange experience, but to be unable to discuss what he sees as a spiritual experience and feel it makes one insane to think about? He's not going to allow someone to keep thinking that, even a little bit. Or even as a joke. 'I think so, but that doesn't mean it was not real. It left a mark, did it not?'
Edited (i can type omg) 2021-06-14 14:42 (UTC)
baum: (p u r s e d)

[personal profile] baum 2021-06-14 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, works for me.

When do you want to start?

[ He figures he'll come back when they're ready to go. ]

baum: (s m i l e e a g e r)

[personal profile] baum 2021-06-14 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If he hadn't already met one ship that was sentient, maybe he wouldn't have worried so much about the drone. Either way, John's shoulders noticeably relax at the confirmation. He moves closer, genuine interest in the technology coming out now. He looks up with a half smile. ]

Our secret.

Man, this tech is years ahead of anything we had back home.

[ John's actually wrong about that, but he doesn't know it yet, and when he does he'll be even less happy. He takes Redwing, turning him in careful hands, and looks up at Sam again. ]

Did you build him?
psychometries: (085)

[personal profile] psychometries 2021-06-14 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, well. At least this isn't the first time he's gotten this kind of reaction here, so he looks a little surprised, but not completely caught off guard. ]

Yeah. Space travel is pretty common in my galaxy. I was kind of living on a ship, before I came here.

[ Normally, he would kind of sheepishly run his hand through his hair or rub the back of his neck, but since his arms are full of baby, he just sort of shifts his weight a little. ]
mylawn: (pic#10436251)

[personal profile] mylawn 2021-06-15 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
I guess so.

[He can't necessarily say that's his experience--he'd put himself more on the captain side of things, and he's about as reckless as they get, nowadays. Still, he imagines you have to be a special kind of crazy to pilot a mobile suit for space warfare.

76 picks up on what Vidar means by "friends", and raises an eyebrow.
]

Can't maintain it by yourself?
spalten: (pic#14544841)

[personal profile] spalten 2021-06-15 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
It's a rather fickle machine, unfortunately.

[ not his specialty, his job is just to pilot it and maybe die in it if that's what the situation calls for, but what's the real issue here is that he used to have the funding for it and now ... doesn't, hence the need for friends. ] Beautiful, but rather complicated.
swordjock: (12)

[personal profile] swordjock 2021-06-15 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
"Yes... and no." Adora starts unhelpfully, but hurries to continue. "Mostly no. I've traveled a lot around the planet, and nothing here looks familiar. But I haven't been everywhere, so I can't rule out this being another Beast Island, or the remnants of some lost kingdom."

Even the dragon skeleton adds an uncomfortable element — between the stories of Mara's dragon a thousand years before, and the giant skeletons littering Beast Island and the Crimson Wastes, it lends credence to this being more than a coincidence. Still, she has one mostly persuasive counterargument.

"Etheria has twelve moons, though. And I mean, I haven't had much time to look at the sky between everything else, but there definitely aren't that many here. So... I don't think this is our past. And I hope it isn't our future, either. Uh, no offense, ma'am."

Hope, because it's better than the alternative; she'd rather distance separating herself and her friends than years, decades, centuries, or the bending of time itself. The last time their reality tore itself apart, it took a great sacrifice to fix, and she wasn't alone like she is now.
northerndragon: (weighing it all)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-06-15 08:35 am (UTC)(link)
He nods a few times, slow little nods, frowning.

“They told me it was 2512, by their reckoning. They lived in walled cities. There had been wars.”

A grim shrug. There are always wars, aren’t there?
figlia_morbida: ([times like these])

[personal profile] figlia_morbida 2021-06-15 10:03 am (UTC)(link)
[No! She doesn't want to think about people's motivations all the time! No wonder Bruno hardly smiles, he's too busy worrying about the angles people are coming at him from every day, all day.

But Trish listens to his assessment without complaint, even if she's sure her judgment isn't nearly as precise or nuanced as his. She simply doesn't have the experience and she's keenly aware of that fact. If anything, she's sure there's some regret to be had because of it, but she and Bruno have different goals as well. He always wants to do the right thing, and she wants...

Similar, she finds. But her dedication isn't nearly as ironclad as his. And what they think is right is absolutely different.

Illumi is a name she hasn't heard either, but she commits it to memory. So that's someone with a power like a Stand...

Her expression is a tad pinched from how hard she's thinking about all this, enough that it catches her off guard when he suddenly drops that on her, and she turns her head to see him smiling of all things.

Trish breaks eye contact immediately to frown up at the ceiling, cheeks pink.
]

I already agreed to work here. You don't need to butter me up.

[Please, you'll kill her.]

I'll keep what you said in mind too...it's all about guts, right?

[The G in Guts...!]
cicatrize: (pic#12598597)

[personal profile] cicatrize 2021-06-15 01:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ a humored snort jumps up from jack's throat, crocked smile curving one side of his lips. ]

I've had plenty enough of each at this juncture, no thank you.

[ both mud and sadness. his bank for each is all full up, no more please. sadness is practically an old friend to him, but it takes very little mud for jack to be done with the substance. whether that's because of or despite the trenches is a mystery. either way, they aren't memories he's fond of replaying.

taking another puff, before holding out the joint to pass back, this one goes down a bit smoother, albeit still with a scrunched face, voice coming strained. ]


Like any good medicine - it's rough going down.

[ like any *self-medicating medicine. he got used to the burn of whisky after a while, he'll get used to this too. ]
trassel: (12.)

[personal profile] trassel 2021-06-15 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
As soon as there is a party large enough. I can also accompany you on your own, for some practical experience.
fossils: (pic#14141619)

[personal profile] fossils 2021-06-15 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ His lips part silently before he responds, tilting his head toward her again a half second later. ]

How'd you get through it?

[ Five years. ]
fossils: (pic#7753869)

five million years later... we can handwave if you prefer!

[personal profile] fossils 2021-06-15 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You'd be the first.

[ A faint half grin. ]

Planes, mostly. Usually on purpose.

[ Just not always with a parachute. ]
portolan: (l o o s e n y o u r c u f f s)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-06-15 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Balthier is aware of the absurdity of introducing himself while in his underwear and a wet shirt, but he's already here, so he commits, shaking Bucciarati's hand and giving a flourish of a bow. He hasn't been here long enough to realize that when he says pirate people assume boats. ]

Should I have gone with runaway noble, sun of a mad scientist, or personal escort to the Queen instead?

[ He's really not sure how any information is going to be taken here, so he's going with a mix of the most absurd pieces of truth so he can double back more intentionally later. ]

And you? What's your profession of introductory choice?
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14854929)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-06-15 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Be careful, Nina.

( dropping the formality in order to drive home the point. she is a soldier, yes ㅡ an asset ㅡ but she is also a girl, one he feels responsible for, and it is easier to lean into that, now, than examine the rest of this admittedly tangled mess. )

I would hate to see you come to harm.
Edited 2021-06-15 20:58 (UTC)