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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.
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!.
Jon Snow ✥ Game of Thrones
HATCHING/HOLDING
[When Jon is pushed into the holding cell, he stands for a moment, staring at the door, some kind of sleepy, confused calculation evidently taking place. Then he turns and paces a few steps. He goes to push his hair — shoulder-length, dark and curly under the blue residue — out of his face, then casts a distracted glance at the traces of the goo on his hand.
After a few more tired steps, he seems to decide something, then sinks to the ground, the bars supporting his back.]
Not much of a welcome. Have you seen them hurt anyone yet — heard of it?
[Even you? You may look all right, but that doesn’t always mean much.]
I know what I’d do in their place, but —
[A shrug. This is not his first dance.]
ii. shower
[In the shower, he tries to keep to himself, tries not to put his eyes anywhere he shouldn’t. He doesn’t much like the eyes of others on him, but in this kind of space, it might be hard to avoid.
Still, when someone asks for a towel, he breaks from what may look like a reverie.]
Aye.
[He sounds impatient. If he looks anywhere, it is either determinedly at the other person’s face, or determinedly at nothing at all.]
iii. Wild card
[In a holding cell with Jon? He got there first? Or maybe you already know each other and he's looking at you curiously? Strike up a conversation.]
[Note: his shirt may seem familiar. It's a very nice shirt and he likes it a lot. It's blue, but the goo may obscure that for a while.]
ii. shower
I can get it myself, but there's not much space and I fear proximity will leave you trembling like a night flower.
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No, it’s all right.
[He hands the towel over, then looks up into Balthier’s face.]
A night flower? [He shakes his head.] No, it’s only that nobody wants staring in a place like this.
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If they're staring, why not give them a show? [ He grins even as he takes the towel and starts drying off. The air is cold and the heat of the water quickly fades. ]
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BASE CAMP // MESS HALL // GHOST
He’s had two lifetimes, now, of better food than this: all the years he had lived at Winterfell, growing into a man alongside the Starks, and all those years as a trueborn son of the Aerie. Not so much the Watch, less so New Amsterdam.
On reflection... he takes a sip of the coffee, then makes a face.]
Thought it couldn’t get worse. They say they’ve been living like this for three years?
[He sounds more dismayed than outraged. They have little enough here: it reminds him a little of what the Free Folk were like on the run, but even they had their goats and their aurochs.
Jon knows better than most what it costs to stretch what rations you have when there isn’t enough to feed the people who depend on you.]
ii. dishwashing
[As if without needing to be asked, Jon has taken up washing dishes. He looks like a little storm-cloud doing it, but he is doing it.]
Have you heard what else might need to be done?
[Despite his grumpy expression -- which may just be his face -- his voice is gentle. It is a genuine question.]
iii. GHOST (objectively the prompts you were probably looking for)
a. [A while after that meal, after washing dishes, Jon hears that people have been finding some of their belongings back in the eggs.
He had Longclaw in New Amsterdam; he does not have it, or anything else, here, only his fine blue shirt with the wolves on it and a pair of breeches. Cause for dismay, for both the simple reason that it's his sword, nearly a part of his arm, and Valyrian steel besides, and for the more complicated one, that he had long ago promised the Old Bear that he would not lose it or allow it to be taken from him. He couldn't be so lucky as to wake up holding it a second time… could he?
He tries to find his way back to the sac that he can remember pulling himself out of, only vaguely, before they had marched him to the cell. That one? No, maybe that one.
The smell in this place sharpens, and he's hungry… no surprise after that sort of meal. These people are barely surviving.
It has been so long that he isn't prepared for the big blue and white blur that darts toward him. And then he understands, and falls to his knee and opens his arms to the big white direwolf.]
Ghost!
[Someone is watching. He calls out,]
Please, leave him. He's mine. I'm his. That is, I raised him from a pup.
b. [Some time after, Jon is walking around the camp. He looks different than he had before: he now wears a padded jacket, boots, no more Three Wolf Moon shirt. A sword is buckled at his waist, along with a dagger in a smaller scabbard. The sword's pommel rides high on his chest, under his arm: a wolf's head in carved white stone, with garnets for eyes.
The great white wolf trots at his side, or a little behind him. The looks people give them… some are awed, some are curious, some are threatened. When the wolf shows a little too much interest in anything he shouldn't, he gets a sharp word from Jon, and backs away from it.]
I am sorry. I give you my word, he doesn't cause much trouble. I raised him myself.
[For his part, the wolf does not seem docile, but he does seem well-mannered. And maybe you're mistaking him for a dog to begin with. Ask yourself: was any dog ever this big?]
iiib.
[ Matthias, for his part, is content to let the mysteries of this place unfold themselves to him with time, and not go running after every loose thread. He doesn't have long to wait, for when coming into the room Ghost approaches him. ]
[ He meets the wolf's eyes but looks at its snout, its ears, quickly — before the locked gaze can register as threatening. And then, mostly to himself, he smiles, bright and quick. To Ghost, he says, ]
I greet you as a friend.
[ Trassel is a few steps behind him, Matthias gestures for him to stop. Let them have distance to feel each other out. ]
[ To Jon, ]
It's no trouble.
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His smile in return is amiable.]
Ghost is glad of friends. [His gaze shifts to somewhere near the other wolf, enough to indicate it without engaging it. Ghost is interested too, sniffing out the air between them as if looking to see if an offered hand holds a dagger. Or maybe not so wary as that.
When was the last time Ghost saw another wolf? Maybe north of the Wall, or maybe in the Wolfswood, for the ordinary sort, but not when Jon was with him. It might have been all the long years since he had left Winterfell to join the Watch, when his brothers and sisters still lived.]
And this one, what’s his name?
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[ Matthias is visibly armed, the large knife at his front, and two more daggers at his belt, but nothing in his hands, which he shows Ghost. His movements are slow — he knows he's tall, and broad, and doesn't look friendly, the only thing that will speak for him is his care in an introduction. ]
This is Trassel.
[ A companion, not a pet. Wolves aren't dogs, anyone who keeps one so near knows exactly what they're doing. ]
He chose me, and I raised him. And you?
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iiia. because that is what i'm here for
Eivor has returned to the Central Chrysalis because of another wolf; Matthias had found his own companion in the eggs, and so Eivor returned to look for Sýnin. But she wasn't expecting to see a second one, and one that is larger than any she's ever seen.]
Vargr, [she hisses, as she catches sight of it bounding toward a man, and she reaches for the bow that is not on her back. She swears again and grabs her axe instead, ready to throw --]
Your pet?
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Aye, mine.
[He isn't sure about that word she had hissed -- isn't sure he caught it correctly.]
What was it you said? Vargr? I've heard something that sounds a little like it, but they can't mean the same thing.
[OOC: This is so, so late: I got sick pretty much right after you tagged in and haven't been up for log threads with new CR since then, which is pretty much the opposite of ideal when you're starting in a new game! I'd be happy to continue this thread, and will be around all week to do it, or we can handwave the basic introductory info exchange and I can look at your new top level! Let me know -- I'm actually excited for this CR, even if you wouldn't know it from how long it took me to tag back.]
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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.
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RECRUITMENT FAIR
[If these people have been here for three years, trying to survive, Jon can't fault the man for being unwilling to put swords -- or anything else -- in the hands of the new arrivals. He wouldn't do such a thing. So when his offer of aid is brushed away, he only answers with a respectful nod, even if the corners of his lips turn down.
They do seem to be trying to build and repair weapons. Some of the weapons are unfamiliar to him, but some, he's been using for nigh on twenty years -- and he's only a few years past his twentieth birthday. He examines a spear, finds that the point is looser than it should be. And while he fixes that, he looks around at the rest of the weapons on offer.]
Have you seen any bows? Arrows? I have a mind to try to hunt, when the weather is fair enough, but it's better with a bow.
[He is no knight, but the way he's dressed, with the big sword at his side, some people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.]
ii. wildcard
[Jon can be found doing helpful things that don't involve science/tech or medicine. That includes wall-building, etc. He may mention that he was "not a builder in the Watch," but wants to give help where it's needed.
If asked to participate in a stage show in any way that involves performing, he will begin to demur and say something about "feeling half a fool." An astute person may note that he doesn't actually seem to like that kind of attention.]
wildcard
When the relevant plumbing had been installed, quite hastily, someone working with the outflow had confused some measurements. The full diameter of a pipe and the diameter of the inside of a pipe are very different things and the two do not neatly fit together, but this unknown amateur plumber hadn't been able to work out how to reconcile them and had just bound them together with thick tape, which has been added to repeatedly over the years. The drips were caught in a bucket which was emptied erratically, and that whole area is full of weird rusty growths like short spiky hairs as tiny native flora thrives in the heat and damp. It is disgusting.
So there's a cloud of oddly-scented steam, and Mops coming out of it wiping her forehead with a heavy wrist. The steam has been irritating her eyes, making the blood vessels show more so that the whites are gray-black, much darker than the odd shining blue of her irises.]
Right on time.
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Still, when the woman emerges from the steam, he has to steel himself from recoiling. Seven hells! He cannot help that she looks a little like a fresh wight, the kind who die in the night and rise before morning. He cannot help that he hesitates, looking a little startled, and that his heart beats fast as fear. It shames him, but it's on him before he can think about it.
Wights don't wipe their foreheads. Wights don't need supplies. Wights don't fix water-works. Plumbing is beyond the interests of White Walkers, who would already have torn this place apart. And while he'd find some cooler air to be a blessed relief, there's no hint of the kind of storm that would accompany the Night King.
For all of those reasons, he masters his surprise and his dismay, and answers her. His voice is low, and he has a heavy accent similar to that of Northern England.]
All that steam makes me think earlier might have been better. Here you are.
[He hesitates, then holds out the box.]
[OOC: My apologies for an egregiously late tag! I've been sick since around when this went up, and really wasn't able to handle log threads with new CR until now. I should be around to hit this fairly quickly if you want to pick it up from here... and in the case of this particular thread, it might be a good idea. On the other hand, it's also totally reasonable to handwave it, and I'd be cool with just briefly sketching out the rest of what happened here and doing something new. It's up to you!
I haven't looked at this month's hatching log yet, and I know that you were having some problems towards the end of last month. But you're still on the roster, so I hope you're still around! :) Further apologies if you're not.]
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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.]
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DREAMS
It does not seem strange to him that he's not alone in a dream. Not anymore.]
Do you know that beast? Do your people tell tales of it?
Our old nurse told us all tales. We thought they were legends, just stories. Most of them have turned out to be true. Wish they hadn't, but they did.
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[ not even gold dragons. she stares out after it, thinking of borch and the egg. ]
The only legends are the lies people tell about what it means to see and hunt one.
[ she was made no more whole by borch. if anything, she had lost something, protecting that egg. nothing real. nothing she missed, she told herself, because she wouldn't allow herself to long for ignorance. geralt had made a fool of her. ]
It's nothing special.
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This life.]
Yennefer. [He turns to her with a small regretful smile.]
I wouldn’t hunt a dragon. But... are you sure that’s what that was?
[He sounds unconvinced. Drogon doesn’t seem like to gently touch one of the scars on his chest and then swim off. ]
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[ it doesn't feel odd, at a time like this, for him to know her name. the peculiarities of the dream fade into the subconscious, settling in like all the other oddities. like the lights under the ocean. ]
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cw Game of Thrones
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( it's debatable, of course, whether or not they're true but he knows of at least one dragon-shaped thing, and it haunts the bone road, waiting for someone brave enough—or foolish enough—to kill it. )
Though the creatures in them are generally not so peaceable.
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[He glances at the man, then back out at the water, then brings his gaze back to the man.]
What do they do, pull maids under the water with them? Drown men who come too near?
FETCH QUEST // ADAMANT
[He doesn't like the land here, how sandy it is. It reminds him of what he's been told of Dorne -- and who would want to live in the mountains and sands of Dorne if you could live in the North?]
I'm stronger than I look. I can go myself, or I can help keep you steady.
If we were looking for poppy, it would be easier to find.
ii. adamant (option to explore a little)
[It looks more like the ghost of a fortress smashed in war than a ship. Jon approaches it slowly -- not tentative and not frightened, but careful. It may not be steady, and in any case, even if the structure can withstand visitors, it may not be empty.]
Is this what you thought it would look like, when they spoke of a shipwreck?
[OOC: Jon is probably not too receptive to flirtation, since 1. He's in love and 2. He just found out that the person he caught feelings for likes him back. Probably. Maybe. It's complicated. Nonetheless, him dealing with the flirtation situation could still be the makings of comedy gold.
Bonus points for lore nerds who spot the joke in the first starter.]
cliffs
And he thought Bucky was out of time, Jesus... ]
Don't gotta climb. I can fly us both up. You don't look that heavy.
[ He glances over at John, shrugs one shoulder. ]
If you give me a moment, I can have Redwing search for the root. Ain't exactly poppy, but he should be able to find it better than us.
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He’s also keenly aware that, since his neural implant no longer connects to anything, he has to rely on questions. And he feels half a fool asking so many of them.]
All right.
[A glance up the cliff.]
How does it work?
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