![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
◣ 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.
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.
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:
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:
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!
☆ 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:
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.
☆ 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.
☆ 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:
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.
☆ 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:
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!.
☆ 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!.
no subject
fresh grief over losing Bucky even when Bucky is right here, just not yet...
For a moment Sam just stands there, eyes on the shield coming right at him. He remembers the bloodied edge, tastes blood in his mouth and braces himself for Walker to cave his chest in.
Instead he breathes, gentles the pain down into himself where it belongs.
Sam doesn't catch the shield. He grabs it, and lets the momentum carry him, spin him on his own axis. He doesn't stop it and throw it so much as he just carries on its momentum and redirects it himself and back to Steve in a spin that pulls hard on his shoulders.
He's not ever going to be strong in the ways Steve, Bucky and Walker are, but that's alright. Sam was never made for the fight, he was made for the rescue. So that others may live. ]
Briefly. It's just like home. Bunch of people show up out of nowhere. Supply chains collapse, people are driven to the brink. Only a matter of time before something strains too hard and someone snaps. People in power not accounting for the people they take from who were already struggling.
no subject
He catches the shield again at the tail-end of admiring Sam's fluid motion, swinging it back in a gentler arc this time. Signaling the cool down of their game. Both eyebrows raise curiously at the statement, then draw together again. ]
Forty or so more new mouths to feed against several thousands already established— we all pull our weight and we should manage until we find our way back.
[ It's not like ten thousand reappeared on top of the established ten thousand. He knows what Sam's getting at, but it's not exactly comparable. Which — ]
You wanna talk about it?
[ The Blip. He'd already had Sam fill him in about his family. Knows at the time he was told mostly about the good parts: reunions and the like. ]
no subject
At the question, Sam's lips press together. ]
Ain't about the number so much. The aid station's short on everything, man. One more person can tip the scale on the wrong day, y'know?
[ Sam catches the shield, holds it for a moment. ]
It's been five years back home, right. No borders. People just helping each other out, 'cause everything was a mess. So five years later, people pop back into existence out of nowhere. Maybe someone else moved into your house. Maybe borders were moved. People you knew are now older. People died while you were gone. Where do you start cleaning up that mess? Do you kick out the person who now lives in your house, or do you accept that even though it was yours yesterday, it's now been someone else's for five years? What do you do when borders fell away and suddenly there are people back in power who tell you 'nevermind the past five years, borders go back up'. What do you do when for five years, you were free, and now you get pushed out and pushed away, 'cause favor is given to the returned? Steve, it's the same damn people who get trampled underfoot, every time.
[ Sam licks his lips briefly, brows furrowing. His thoughts are on Karli. ]
Don't matter if it's a small inconvenience or a large strain. It piles up, especially if you never get to have a say in how your life gets rearranged. People weren't asked to donate clothes to us, you know. They were taken. And sure, we need them - don't mean the people who's dead loved one's stuff we're getting without their say don't get to be upset about that.
no subject
There's parts of that explanation that he understands a little too intimately. Waking up to a changed world. His old block unrecognized, the last place he'd called home demolished. Nearly everyone he'd known and cared about gone in the blink of an eye.
It's not the same, though.
Steve, it's the same damn people who get trampled underfoot, every time.
He listens, watching Sam as he continues. The world's been in a state of turmoil long before Thanos showed up and tore it in half. Natasha and Bucky painted the same rough picture for him earlier while he was still trying to wrap his head around seeing the stones destroyed to you fix it.
He's not, for what it's worth, and has never been a blind optimist. When he implies they'll figure things out here, it's because he knows there's no other choice. He's only got one retractable shield now because he handed the other one over to Rémi.
There's a pause after Sam finishes, and Steve inclines his head toward him. ]
So what's our next move?
[ Not at all a challenge, just a direct question made with respect for the guy across from him. Made in trust. ]
no subject
If he were opposed to something Steve does, truly opposed to it - he wouldn't fall in line for Cap. Sam's a stubborn, authority bucking asshole like that.
They got that in common. ]
I gotta talk to Nat about getting us off the public network, 'cause I could do without the general public or the people in charge having a permanent line to what we discuss. Plus I wanna interface Redwing and Buckabee so I can share recon info with you guys. Gather our own intel that doesn't rely on what the people in power deem worthy of sharing.
[ His fingers flex on the shield, restless, and Sam makes an all-encompassing gesture. ]
Meanwhile, we make ourselves of service to the community. These people need help, and we can show up for them, from fixing people up in the aid station to re-inforcing some walls. I don't care what Captain Childe and Major Buttclench tell me not to do, I ain't gonna stand idly by, especially when there's already people kicking up noise over their dead loved ones' possession getting redistributed without their input. Couple of egg folk are beginning to organize hunting parties to shore up supplies, and we gotta start organizing expeditions into the old ship to salvage things to bring back, and I don't care about currying favor with the captain - I care about giving something back to the people we're taking from. If we bulldoze over them to integrate ourselves with the captain to make our lives easier, it ain't worth it. That's how you earn yourself unrest. So we make sure those voices are heard, and we help where we can.
[ Somewhere in that, he started pacing, but stops abruptly, frowning and Steve and gesturing towards him briefly. ]
Man, what are you asking me that for? I know you know this.
no subject
Hold on to that one.
He meets his gaze earnestly. ]
Because I'm trying not to rely solely on mindreading these days. [ When it comes to you, and Bucky. He tips his head the other way. ]
And because you're the one we're all looking to now.
[ Their little group. Just the way it's gonna be.
Sam knows it himself. None of them are blind loyal followers. That much hasn't changed at all, just the positions.
Got no argument with much of what Sam proposes either.
He continues, frowning to himself thoughtfully: ]
The power dynamics here aren't what I was expecting exactly— [ considering how they were greeted when they first hatched. He gives Sam an abridged version of what he's learned from speaking to folks around camp, and from that it's clear his position on Captain Childe and Major 'Buttclench' is erring cautiously toward respect as far as how they treat their people, recent pushback against the new arrivals and the care packages aside. ]
They've been surviving out here three years.
[ No resting on their laurels and taking handouts, but they gotta remember that they don't have the same experience as the Adamant survivors. He's not advocating for sucking up by far, but they gotta give credit where credit's due. ]
no subject
[ They're on the same page, and Sam's glad for it. While the pushbacks against the care packages rankle something in him that is still caught on feeling Karli die in his arms, on the need to prevent emotions boiling into a similar direction here. Much of what Steve shares overlaps with what Sam's heard, and it visibly puts him at ease.
And yet there's a tension in his shoulders.
Sam's arms are crossed - it rarely tends to be a defensive stance with him, just a way to pull into himself a little, to stand and center himself around a few thoughts.
It's not letting him go. And because you're the one we're all looking to now. Sam swallows, and for a moment it's clear that even as he listens to Steve and agrees with him - his thoughts are still hanging back on something else. ]
You shouldn't... it's not... it's been you, Steve, and it still is. [ His voice has gone quieter on that, softer. He's searching Steve's eyes for that. And then he echoes what Bucky said. And it had hurt in the moment, badly. Doesn't make it less true: ] It ain't about me, Cap.
[ Never was. ]
no subject
How's that?
[ How's any of this not about you?
He's trying to listen, now. Finally. ]
no subject
And for a moment, he opens his mouth, and he's on the verge of just shooting from the hip, but... he can't. Sam snaps his mouth shut, jaw clenching briefly. He's not sure he's got it in him to explain it all to a Steve who has never even reached the point of making this choice without ever asking Sam. A Steve who left - and in leaving chose something for Sam that Sam couldn't carry the way Steve and Bucky wanted him to. ]
Holding a shield doesn't make Captain America, Steve.
no subject
Been trying all this time (mostly all this time). ]
Choosing to pick it up's a good start, though. [ Another quick pause, his eyes narrowing slightly. ] As long as you want it.
[ Then it's yours.
This isn't him trying to thrust it on Sam without talking to him like he does some years from now or some months earlier, depending on your perspective. But he's not going to easily back down from it should be yours.
You need to talk about it, let's talk about it. ]
no subject
[ Sam keeps the bite out of his voice, because he needs Steve to not misunderstand - maybe there used to be bite directed at Bucky there at some point, because Sam was crushed underfoot in the way he and his always are, and Bucky getting in his face with pointing fingers and personal anger was so far out of line Sam couldn't help his own anger. And he's still bitter, just no longer at Bucky. Where Sam's at, Bucky and him are so damn good.
Sam hangs his head rubs at the back of his neck. ]
Man. This sucks, don't it? You are... so far out of context, and it's not your fault. None of it is. You haven't done shit.
[ And then a gradual slump of the shoulders. ]
I've been so caught up I haven't even asked you how you are doing with this shit show. Some friend.
[ But he throws Steve a smile - Sam's not that kind of self-deprecating, after all. ]
no subject
His hands have gone into his pockets again, a half-shake of his head, an almost smile pulling at one side of his lips as his gaze fixes on some space of ground between them, not really looking. A softness to match in his voice, a hint of something worn down at the edges. ]
I'd be doing a lot better if one of you'd help catch me up.
[ Don't keep trying to change the subject. If you know that Bucky's told him, you know he gave him less than the cliffnotes version. ]
no subject
[ It's an admission that comes quiet, soft, and only after a stretch of silence. Sam presses his lips together, and swallows hard. ]
You told Bucky ahead of time, but you didn't tell me. And the way you were both looking at me, man... you both chose this for me, I didn't get a say, and neither of you really understands what it means. And then you left.
[ Sam feels that prickle in his fingertips again. Like he's gonna crumble away to ash and dust. He keeps his breathing even. It should have been an honor to have the shield passed on to him like that, but he hadn't felt like he could say no. It set him up for failure - accept it and a mantle he couldn't fathom donning for a country that doesn't care about people like him, or reject it and break the hearts of the two people who still mattered, who'd failed to allow him room for input.
And then, fresh out of learning about Natasha's death, Steve had left him, too, and Sam was supposed to hold down the fort on his own, and he'd choked on it all. ]
It ain't your fault, man, and I can't take you to task for shit you haven't even done. I can catch you up. But I... [ Quieter, still. Sam hates how small his voice gets. ] I need Bucky for that. I need my partner.
no subject
Is that how he would do it? Leave Sam out of the discussion like that. Where Bucky wouldn't protest about him getting his chance maybe, maybe if he thought Sam would try to stop him from doing something stupid, he'd blindside him with the first part but...
That's a reach. And one no more fair to Sam than what he decides to do.
He wants to believe he's a better friend than that.
Wants to believe he's not that selfish.
Can't imagine what happens in those five years that changes that.
He pushes the guilt down, buries it. That's not what Sam needs. His mouth forms a thin line, then his expression softens again with sudden realization. Partner. ]
He's missing time too.
no subject
[ And it's that which almost does Sam in. And it shows perhaps, in the sharp intake of breath, in the way his eyes fog over wet. He doesn't cry, just swallows wet and heavy, and that must be familiar to Steve. Sam doesn't open up to people easily, but they've lived in each other's pockets for two years. PTSD haunts them all, and there were nights when Sam woke up with Riley's name stuck in his throat. He wears his grief in dark and private moments.
That grief has grown, and Sam's drowning in it like quicksand.
Natasha died on a faraway planet to bring them all back. No body, no funeral, nothing. Sam just went from seeing her every day for two years, living with her, working with her, trusting her, to her being gone. They laid Tony Stark to rest, there are memorials for him, tributes and documentaries, and Natasha's name is on nobody's lips. Sam sees her falling sometimes, when he dreams of Riley. RPG fire in the nightsky over the desert, like fireworks that Sam and Riley were weaving through, except then Riley went up in flames and smokes, and the last thing Sam ever heard from him was this soft 'Sam, I...' before he fell, burning and dying, Icarus made reality, and there wasn't enough left to scrape off the red rocks to send back home. So sometimes in his dreams, it's Natasha instead, and he fails to catch her all the same.
Sam could lay Steve to rest, at least, in his own way. Put the shield down with his armor in the museum, like a flag draped over a coffin, an attempt to honor and remember and pay tribute. Sam can't blame Steve for not seeing all the ways in which Sam was falling apart over losing both his closest friends and partners in one fell swoop, his life otherwise in shambles after two years as a fugitive and then five years dead. Sam's always been good at hiding his pain.
Except right now, for just a moment, the reminder that Bucky is here and yet Sam still lost him, too... it hits him hard out of nowhere. The last thing Sam remembers is the sunset over Delacroix, and the presence of his best friend, of his partner, a balm on all his aches that he pretends he doesn't have, because finally he's not quite as alone in the crowd anymore... except here, the last thing Bucky remembers is both of them yelling at each other in the world's most unprofessional therapy session - but what was Sam gonna do, leave Bucky alone with a woman who's friendly with Walker, who feels comfortable calling Bucky an asset? Hell no. Last thing Bucky remembers about where they're at is promising each other they'd part ways after this mission. It's not beyond rebuilding - but it's a loss all the same, and it hurts in ways Sam can't begin to explain to Steve. The burden of the present rests once again on Sam's shoulders alone.
And he cannot explain any of this to Steve, because Natasha doesn't want Steve to know, and Natasha's wishes deserve to be respected. So Sam has a gag order on the details of his grief.
For a moment, he feels checked out and foggy, just trying not to choke on the things that sit in his throat, half-formed thoughts and names and explanation.
And then Sam clears his throat, tries to push it all back into a box inside his chest, and just says: ]
But he's here. And so are you, and Wanda, and Tasha.
no subject
[ Careful, low. Understanding, to the best degree he can. Frustrated for the both of them. All of them.
It's a monkey's paw.
You get what you want, but there's always a catch.
He knows what it's like to cling to at least.
At least he's alive and not under their control anymore.
At least I get them back.
It's enough. You make it enough, because that's how they keep pushing on. And stopping to think too long means sinking down that hole. Means letting these cracks show.
It's the same red-eyed sheen he's already seen on Bucky's face since they got here. Kills him, then and now.
Yeah, we're here.
But not the way you need. ]
Sam... [ Repeats his name the same way, face twisting up this time as he reaches out to touch his shoulder. ] you don't have to...
[ Do this alone. ]
no subject
[ Sam glances up at Steve then, wry smile pulling on his lips even as he puts his hand over Steve's. He appreciates the sentiment, even if he can't agree that this is a burden he could - or should - share. He has no right to project his needs onto past versions of them all who cannot answer for their own futures, or be asked to cater to what Sam's already gotten used to needing from them.
He was always the first one to fly in the EXO Falcon harnesses, mark 1 through 6, until they got it right with mark 7. Not to push his own career. Not because he thought himself better. But because Sam would rather find the malfunction himself than let Riley find it - and the brass wasn't unhappy to risk a black man over a white man, either.
Some things just fall into place like that.
Sam gives Steve's hand a small squeeze. ]
Don't tell Bucky how to treat me. I know you meant well, but I'm asking you not to. I'm okay, and I promise I'll hide behind Tasha if I need a break from his nonsense. Or yours.
[ He glances away briefly, then back to Steve, uncertainty giving way to a hesitant kind of mirth. He's asking Steve to let Bucky find his own way back to the relationship that this hatching nonsense robbed Sam of.
But also he's trying to find footing with Steve that's not just painful, that's a reprieve from walking over glass with each other. ]