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!.

neversmall: (006)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-07-23 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ What kind of world must he live in, where magic is not an abomination, but available to everyone? Where ships sail the skies and the seas and people ride birds like horses? ]

It certainly sounds less so than yours. [ Nina shakes her head and glances up at the sky -- no clouds, not yet. Would acid rain even come from clouds? ] I can't imagine what grows here would be very friendly, if even the water it feeds fr[ ]om is acid.
northerndragon: (put on the spot)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-23 10:48 am (UTC)(link)
[That makes him chuckle again, though he is not yet sure this is much of a place for laughter… an idea that the way they’re pushed back to the holding cells reinforces. When they reach it, they’re close enough to continue talking.]

Well, they’re letting us get clean, and they’re not killing us yet. That says something for them. I’ve been in other places a little like this —- not so much on this side of things. No one hatching out of eggs in our cellars.

I’m Jon Snow.

[And you?, his expression says.]
cleaningsolutions: (about if optimism is incompatible with r)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-07-24 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Mops pauses as the human tenses and has some kind of knee-jerk reaction to get past. This happens. It's always kind of depressing - given how very inhuman aliens in her setting are, she doesn't think cured and wildtype humans look very different at all, it always makes her wonder how she looks to these reddish people with their delicate arms and hands, and the answer seems to be 'not good' - but that's how it goes.]

Thank you.

[Mops tucks some hair that's escaped from her bun back behind her ear and takes the box. Gently. Her hands really are big and heavy, and you can see how the nails are cut-down claws, but she's got good fine control, and wants to reinforce whatever not-a-monster impression she can.]

Did you have any trouble finding this spot? They could really go for better juncture labels.

[OOC: Is okay! I've had a lot of things going on and haven't really been involved with the game, but I'm still here.]
northerndragon: (34-insomniatic-dw)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-24 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
Juncture labels... better signposts on the way? Aye, they could, but there was no real trouble.

[She looks strong, like a combination of a wight and his sister's big lady knight. He knows some men think that Lady Brienne is a jest, but her sharp sword and big frame and implacable loyalty say otherwise. And while this woman looks less alive than he'd like, so far she seems like an ordinary woman.

As ordinary as a woman attending to the water-works can be said to be.]


How long have you been here trying to fix this?
cleaningsolutions: (Default)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-07-24 08:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Don't treat him like a normal person, Mops tells herself. Cured humans hold eye contact for longer and blink less, but wildtypes get nervous when she does that.]

That's good. It took me a moment to find the problem certain people had been putting off.

[She says it with some irony; it's the kind of unprofessionalism that she finds frustrating, but to be sure, these people have a great deal to worry about, so she's not going to work herself up about it.]

About ninety minutes. A lot of rust, you know? And it's hard to see when the steam gets like this - but these parts should help.
northerndragon: (weighing it all)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-24 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
Is this the kind of work you did before -- well, before we found ourselves here? They have need of builders.

[The impulse to run has faded... mostly. Once that's gone, he falls into his interest in hearing where people have come from.]

And the more we aid them, the more likely we are to keep whatever welcome we have. Before this place, I was brought to a city in a world other than my own. The Displaced, they called us. Some wanted us gone.
cleaningsolutions: (Life longs for life.)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-07-24 08:36 am (UTC)(link)
[She smiles, close-lipped to hide her teeth.]

Yes, actually. I've worked in Hygiene and Sanitation for twelve years, special focus on plumbing - I don't know much about construction, but I can redesign a water system just fine, and implement it if I have the tech. It's easier to set something up for humans than for Krakau, even. Humans prefer being dry most of the time.

[Mops considers.]

I see... so you're experienced, then. You said you were 'brought'. Did you ever hear why?

[oh right:]

Lieutenant Marion Adamopolous.
northerndragon: living forever is like living in a living nightmare (dismay)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-24 08:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Understanding half of what she says is enough: she knows water-works inside and out. That may stand them in good stead. People need a source of clean water, or as clean as they can get. Not always easy when they're on a planet that isn't their own, where the water may burn them when it falls from the sky.

He nods gravely, acknowledging the introduction, then returns it.]


I am Jon Snow.

What I was told of the matter is that an accident pulled me to that world. A man who was trying to find someone he had lost, who killed a god trying to get it back.

[He says that too dismissively to pause, continuing,]

Kra-kau. Are those your people?

[He's genuinely interested, on that score. If humans are something other than she is, it would explain nearly all of it.]
cleaningsolutions: (about if optimism is incompatible with r)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-07-24 09:00 am (UTC)(link)
[She nods back, imitating the gesture.]

I have a friend by that name. Did you name yourself for the epidemiologist too?

[yeah sorry Jon, she's got you mixed up with John Snow, of "I bet cholera is a waterborne illness" fame.

Also there's a lot there to unpack - she's only vaguely aware of what gods are, for one - but we gotta move on.]


The saviors and creators of my people. The Krakau are an alien species that came to invite humans into their alliance, but by the time they got to Earth, humans had turned ourselves into monsters that ate their diplomats. They thought about just leaving us be, but decided to try and fix us instead.
northerndragon: (break the silence)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-24 09:15 am (UTC)(link)
[The look he gives her at "epidemiologist" shows that he's utterly mystified by the word, but he doesn't address it. He'll find out about the water pumps in the London slums later, perhaps. There is no shame in sharing a name with a great man who saved many lives.

The rest of what she's said is more important. It seems a little closer, somehow, to what wights are, and what he fears his people may become.]


How did the people do that to themselves?

[He seems as if he's about to continue the sentence, but hesitates.]

-- I'm sorry, I don't know whether to call you my lady, or Lady Marion, or Adamopolous.
cleaningsolutions: (about if optimism is incompatible with r)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-07-24 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
[It's a good name. Short and evocative. Mops nods soberly.]

Plague. There was a scientist... a team of them really. They made a disease that destroyed parts of the brain while making the body stronger, and it got loose. A lot of people died outright. The rest... [Mops shrugs, though her face is troubled. The end of humanity-as-it-was bothers her, truly and deeply.] The rest became my ancestors.

I'm not sure I'm a lady. [She's not entirely sure what lady means, either, though it's used in Jane Austen a lot.] If you want to be formal, it's Lieutenant or Lieutenant Adamopolous. Otherwise, it's Marion. And you?

['Mops' is for friends and coworkers, and they're not there yet.]
northerndragon: (pink letter - what?)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-24 09:45 am (UTC)(link)
Just Jon.

[Because thank the gods that no one here is calling him "Your Grace," or forgetting that he has resigned his position as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

The rest of what she says... he was right to begin with, and the way it troubles him shows on his face, though he does not move away from her. She is some sort of wight -- or the descendent of them in a place where that matters. Not the same sort of wight he's seen.

But nothing about her so far makes her seem like a monster, or makes him feel in any danger that she'll try to eat him. Then he thinks he understands it.]


You're one of those the Krakau have aided.

[Even if he's troubled, there's sympathy in his voice.]
Edited 2021-07-24 09:46 (UTC)
cleaningsolutions: (I think I’m both)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-07-24 10:12 am (UTC)(link)
That's right. We're called "cured humans". We're not what you are, but we've got higher brain functions now. [Most of them. Mops doesn't need to spread around that cured humans aren't as intelligent. She has a quiet fear that it's obvious. Dryly, so that it's clearly a joke on some levels:] And the compulsion to eat flesh is very much diminished.

[If she's not hungry and no one's dead or wounded in sight, she doesn't feel it at all. Mops is making the joke(?) largely to see how he reacts, since she noticed something in his face changing earlier.]

Unfortunately, capturing a feral and curing them is a whole involved process and it doesn't breed true. There's a lot of work left and we're dependent on the Krakau to help.

[Now that she's moved on from the death of the human race as it was, she's more matter of fact. It does bother her that in her twelve year career there hasn't really been much progress made towards an independent humanity, just not as much as what came before.]
northerndragon: i am glad you are here with me. (the end of all things)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-24 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
[He's seen enough Thenns become wights. They would eat the flesh of other people before they were wights, though; after, the Army of the Dead does not march on its stomach. And what the people in her world had become didn't stop at eating their own. Not the same.

He speaks carefully -- thoughtfully.]


I knew a man who roasted his enemies and ate their bones. He had no excuse, no sickness, no reason except that it was the custom of his tribe. I killed him in battle, but there are others like him who might have been my allies if they had lived long enough.

We fight -- my allies and I fight -- dead who are unthinking, and creatures who are their masters. Creatures of ice. They eat nothing -- they do nothing but kill. I don't know what goes through their minds, only that their king wants me to know that nothing I do will ever be good enough to defeat him.

But we do not think that anyone ever deserves to become a wight. Before they were killed and raised up again, they were our friends, our brothers.

[Does she understand? He is trying to stop something like what happened to her world from happening to his, even if they differ in details. If she seemed about to take a bite from him, then he would think of fighting her. But for now, he doesn't step away. He doesn't have the sense of any real threat. Maybe he should.]

I've never thought that there might be a way to help them.
cleaningsolutions: (Default)

[personal profile] cleaningsolutions 2021-07-24 02:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[She can pick up what he's putting down. These 'wights' seem more unnatural than ferals, but that could be her own bias. Mops is troubled, sympathetic.]

I see. I'm sorry you've had to go through that. You're lucky in one sense - the plague was airborne, impossible to contain. Every feral spread it just by breathing. Eventually it was everywhere. If not for that, ferals just don't have the intelligence to have leaders or make plans, or even use tools, so they're limited in that respect.

[Needless to say, she's not infectious. May not have been even before she was cured, actually. Even newly born to cured parents, modern humans have the black blood, big grasping hands, and animal hunger of ferals. It's genetic now, not something the disease does to them.]

There could be, but it may be outside of your capabilities. It's outside of mine. Your wights are... dead people, you say?
Edited 2021-07-24 14:19 (UTC)
portolan: (a r m s c r o s s e d)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-07-24 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I have had enough monsters in my life to assume you are quite correct. [ He's been all over Ivalice, truly, but the rain and plants were mostly not dangerous. He's grateful for that now. ]

Maybe someone from some other place has a way to shield against the rain, at least. I'd still like to get out and see it. And who knows...if the plants have adapted, maybe we could use that to protect ourselves.
portolan: (c h e e r y)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-07-24 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Balthier. [ He's used it so long that he doesn't even think about it, but a moment later he wonders about using his older name, the one he left behind all those years ago. He would be the only mied Bunansa left now.

The thought makes is stomach twist.
]

First time in a prison? Ah to be young and full of wonder.

[ He technically has seen plenty of things hatch in cellars and dungeons. They all just matched the species of the eggs they came from. ]
unclesam: ((133))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-07-25 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's not awkwardness on Sam's part - this he's used to, and what the wings were once originally built for. Drop behind enemy lines, get the wounded and PoW out where copters and parachutes can't go due to anti-aircraft measures. Strike a target or two on the way in or out. Dropkick a helicopter out of the sky, as you do. ]

Brothers in arms. [ Sam knows that better than many, having served combat tours in the Air Force. He still considers the men and women he served with his brothers and sisters. ] Only if you promise not to kick me.

[ Sam grins though, and gets a secure grip around John's waist before engaging the thrusters. The liftoff is nice and easy, and he doesn't put a lot of speed on them, just smoothly carries them up. the wings twitch, automatically adjusting for updrafts as Sam makes sure not to get too close to the cliff face lest they smack straight into it. ]

Y'know, I've seen my share of weird shit, but for some reason dragons are just damn exciting. Thing of storybooks and fairytales where I'm from. Well, probably. As far as anyone knows, at least. How 'bout you, then? You turn into anything fancy?
northerndragon: if her dog likes you, you're in (drogon's lunch)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-25 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
I’ll do what I can.

[And indeed, when they lift off, Jon restrains the urge to shift his feet, to kick at the air to try to find some sort of footing. He holds on, strong: it would be hard to drop him.]

No one has seen a dragon in more than a hundred years where I come from, until recently. But in that other place… no, I didn’t change like that. I only became stronger than any man should be.

[For the time being, it seems better not to talk about the blue glow, or about how he could feel what Daenerys was feeling, or how he and Quentin could talk in dreams.]
unclesam: ((118))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-07-25 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's much appreciated. Nothing more unpleasant that getting kneed in the groin by someone freaking out over take off.

Sam listens to the explanation, eyes fixed on the cliff until he brings them up and over the edge, boosting them forward a little until they can safely land. Only when he's sure they've both got solid footing does Sam let go, giving Jon a clap on the shoulder with a smile. ]


There we go. Not quite a dragon, but hey. Does the job, right? So this other place you mentioned... you gained super-strength there?
northerndragon: living forever is like living in a living nightmare (dismay)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-25 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
[As well as he took the flight, it is a relief to be on solid ground again. What they’ve just done was faster and easier than climbing the Wall, but there was still danger in it, and near on the same kind of trust.

He responds to Sam with a firm nod, then looks around the cliff top.]


I wonder how many they lost before they found this plant, and how many they’ve lost getting it.

[But Sam has asked him something, so he adds,]

But aye, it was a god’s strength, a piece of it. That place wasn’t my home. Wasn’t anything like it. It had great walled cities. Everyone had computers in their skulls. You could take a ship to the moon or to Mars.

You spoke of stories a few moments ago. If you’re from one of those Earths that has England, Europe, stories of knights fighting dragons — as near as I can tell, the world I came from first is much as yours was around 1400. But people: they’re not very different anywhere.
Edited (Clearer phrasing!) 2021-07-25 05:28 (UTC)
unclesam: ((34))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-07-25 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ Sam casts a grim glance around. Judging by the distance from the base camp, and the fact that the plan isn't really visible from the ground... yeah this is definitely not an easy find without knowing it's here already. ]

Too many.

[ The survivors are in rough shape. The fact that they've made it for so long... nothing to ease the pain of having to survive by trial and error. But at least they got some backup now. It's not that Sam thinks the hatchlings make everything smooth sailing or are qualified where the survivors aren't - they just bring unique skill sets and tech to the plate that can only be helpful. Or so he hopes. ]

England in the 1400s... alright, gotcha. That helps place it. Well, aside from the dragons of course. But yeah, I guess... people are people, no matter where you go. Whether it's a different country, time, world...

[ It's a bit depressing for the bad stuff - but honestly kinda uplifting, too. Sam does believe that people, by and large, are good. It's countries, governments, organizations, businesses, even religions, those that bring agendas and inflict them upon others, where things start getting messy. ]

Yo, that strength. You got to keep it?
Edited 2021-07-25 05:38 (UTC)
northerndragon: (Default)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2021-07-25 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
[Another nod.]

Aye, I got to keep it. In the early days, I couldn’t control it much, but I had to learn. Didn’t want to kill a man if I had to strike him.

[What he doesn’t know yet, not really: his strength is now sixfold, and he can make a fire in his hand and throw it some distance. Nothing has happened to make these abilities apparent, even to him, but he knows now that there were gods other than the blue one. He doesn’t like to think of his life in the Volary — how he was not the man he would want to be. The Jon in the Volary could also move things with his mind as easily as with his hand. The Jon outside of it thinks that men should not mistake themselves for gods.

Meanwhile, Sam understanding the comparison to medieval Europe is telling enough, in its way. It gives some idea of what his world is like.]


These people, they want what everyone else does. Some kind of safety, food on the table, for their children to have the chance to grow up. We’re taking their food, but we can give — try to give — them more safety. Try to hunt, too. There has to be something more here to eat.
unclesam: ((77))

[personal profile] unclesam 2021-07-25 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Powers are a strange thing to Sam. They've never been in the card for him, all he knows is that back home, if someone offered him the super soldier serum, he wouldn't take it - he has no desire to enhance himself, is content with his strength - and lack of it - as it is. But then where he comes from, gaining powers is a double edged sword, and often the byproduct of accidents or dangerous experiments. Sam has no desire to alter himself like that. ]

That would be unfortunate. So, you ended up in a different world, got a boon from a god, and now you're here. Quite the journey.

[ At the notion of hunting, Sam nods. ]

You talk to Matthias and Alex? They were talking about hunting, too. I'm not much for it, but I can help scout for sure. Would be good to contribute more. I get why they don't trust us with security detail, but it's good to get involved either way. Been helping at the Aid Station for that reason.
ulfrkysst: (fuðork haniast bjalmyr fuð fuðork)

[personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-07-27 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
["Mine." It's such a strange thing to say about a wolf -- even Dwolfg isn't hers; she sleeps in Eivor's room, but she is still a wild animal.

Eivor is still untrusting of the wolf, massive as it is, and eyes it warily while she slowly returns her axe to its place at her belt.]


Yes, [she says slowly, not keeping her eyes off the wolf.] A creature that destroys.