raiamods: (Default)
raiamods ([personal profile] raiamods) wrote in [community profile] ethyraia2021-06-10 06:01 pm

EVENT #01 —

WHO: All PCs
WHAT: Guests arrive at the basecamp
WHEN: June 10 - June 17
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: None currently (let us know if we should update this because we missed something)


EVENT LOG 001 — JUNE ❀
CONTENT WARNINGS: None currently (let us know if we missed something and should update this!)

Please note that several of these sections have deadlines, so it's a good idea to prioritize your plotting for the earlier section of the event first.

A calendar of events and deadlines is as follows:
IC:
June 10 -
The thessyx arrive with the shell.
June 11 - Dinner with the thessyx, gifts distributed.
June 12 - Scrimmage interrupted by the formation of a sinkhole.
June 14 - Critters emerge from the sinkhole in the gymnasium.
June 13-17 - Two more sinkholes open up, with more critters emerging within the day.

OOC:
June 13 -
Last day to ask about your character interfering with the shell.
June 16 - Last day to ask about your character joining the closed-door meeting with Childe and the thessyx.
June 30 - Last day to register the way your character engages with the thessyx and the critters directly. (Mods do not anticipate replying to these comments.)
❀ UNEXPECTED VISITORS


At noon on June 10, a dozen visitors arrive. The Thessyx carry themselves quietly, moving through the base as if they were attempting to enter a body of water without disturbing it. Lightweight robes of some native skein cover their green-grey amphibian skin, but do not obscure the fact that each of them possesses four arms. Once inside the base and in the leviathan’s embrace, they will lower their hoods and additionally reveal fins of varying colors along the back of their scalps. These creatures have slit noses; wide-set, irisless eyes; and mouths that stretch the full width of their skull. With them, they bring a great shell about three meters long and as tall as a small adult human.

The security force of the Adamant greets the visitors on their entry to camp. These strange amphibious creatures inform the security force that they are the Thessyx, and that the shell is full of gifts. The security force is ordered by Chief Security Officer Rémi to lock the shell away until Captain Childe has had the opportunity to decide what will be done with the contents. If you intend for your character to interfere with the shell in some way, please reach out in the QUESTIONS thread below BEFORE JUNE 13TH — this includes if your character would try to stop others from interfering with it.

Three of their number with blue fins on their head go to speak in a closed-door meeting with Captain Childe. If your character would like to attempt to get access to this meeting, please reach out in the QUESTIONS thread below with an explanation of how they would attempt to do so BEFORE JUNE 16TH.

The next day, more Thessyx arrive, and they will remain on the base for about one week. They move around the camp fairly casually, mingling with the Adamant’s crew. They are particularly interested in the hatchlings. If your character would like to ask specific questions of the Thessyx they encounter, please direct them to the QUESTIONS thread below.

Just before dinner the next evening (June 11), Captain Childe announces that there will be a special celebration in the mess hall, courtesy of their guests — all of their guests. The announcement is as follows, and goes out on the communication devices camp-wide:
I'm sure some of you have noticed the Thessyx walking among us. In light of their arrival and the gifts they've brought with them, we've decided to have a joint celebration in the mess. They have agreed to have guards from their city patrol our perimeter, so everyone has twelve hours off. Attendance isn't mandatory, but it's strongly suggested.

They've brought gifts for our new arrivals as well. These gifts are to be distributed later. I know some of you will think it's unfair that the Thessyx are favoring them, and that in three years of being here this is the first time they've initiated contact with us. Tensions are bound to be high — but the first person who picks a fight is getting thrown in the brig, I don't care if you're a civilian or not. We could all use this break.

Don't offend them. No fish jokes.

Childe out.
At dinner, a few crew members get out their instruments, and Captain Childe even looks the other way when Senior Engineer Thorkil Bjørnson opens up a barrel of the moonshine he’s just finished. It means going without later, but they’ll share some of their modest wealth with the Thessyx. The mess hall is cluttered with revelry, and some of the tables have been pushed together to make room for people to dance.

The feast is made up of various mosses and seaweeds, pickled insects, and a few mollusks. Whether this sounds appetizing or not, it’s the freshest food anyone on the base has had for a while, and it seems it’s only intended for the Children of the Leviathan. Some crew members look on jealously or externalize their bitterness. Others may be pushier — after all, they’ve been providing for the hatchlings out of their own supplies for a while now. Still others will be surprised if any of the hatchlings offer trades or pawn the food off on them preemptively — they may be inclined towards favors and good will.

A few notes:
  • The Thessyx refer to the hatchlings as ‘Children of the Leviathan.’ They do not appear to sleep, nor do they step out from under the leviathan’s embrace when the sun is out. The three blue finned Thessyx who meet with Captain Childe are not the Thessyx’s leaders, only representatives. They prefer to ask the PCs questions about them and where they came from rather than answering questions about themselves.

  • To interfere with the shell, attempt to be involved in the closed-door meeting between Childe and the thessyx, or to ask questions of the thessyx, please visit the QUESTIONS sub-thread. These options have staggered deadlines so that we can account for each stage while responding to the next; these actions of some hatchlings will reflect on others.

  • By JUNE 30TH at 21:00 EST, please respond to the mod comment labeled THESSYX GREETING with a brief description of how your character would greet the Thessyx. Feel free to write multiple characters in a single comment. We just want to check the temperature in the room.

  • ❀ A DISTURBANCE UNDERFOOT

    On June 12th, the thessyx’s visit is disrupted by the appearance of a sinkhole in the gymnasium. The basketball court, which was already in disrepair, suffers the worst of the damage. In the midst of a scrimmage between PCs and NPCs, which the thessyx observe quite rapturously, a 5-meter hole opens in the middle, with concrete and steel and earth crumbling underfoot. Any injured PCs will have their sprains and scratches treated well by the medical team, and the gymnasium will be closed until further notice. Don’t worry! The Adamant’s engineers are on the case, figuring out how the soil’s stability gave way. This could be bad news for the entirety of the basecamp if it’s an ongoing issue. The engineers could probably use some help addressing the issue — to volunteer, reach out to us in the QUESTIONS thread.

    Over the next couple days, two more sinkholes appear — one near the Memorial Wall, and one in the showers (though it thankfully doesn’t seem to have affected the plumbing). Anyone injured by a sinkhole will also have their sprains and scratches treated well by the medical team. Cartagena shares a helpful (“helpful”) PSA about the dangers of sinkholes and how to protect yourself, which is clearly dated and has nothing to do with whatever is going on here on Ethyraia:

    Hello, Children of the Leviathan! Isn’t that a silly name? I guess it’s the most accurate, since you did come from eggs. Soon you will be one month old! Hahaha! Biology can be odd sometimes.

    It’s not just biology, though! Ecology is certainly strange and confusing, and nothing is stranger and more confusing than the ecology of Ethyraia. I’m sure you have all noticed the sinkholes appearing more and more often these days. Do not be alarmed! Not because there is nothing alarming, but because alarm leads to panic and panic leads to more danger!

    For the time being, please follow these helpful tips for sinkholes:
    1. If you see a sinkhole, go the opposite direction.
    2. If you fall into a sinkhole, try not to cry. Instead, yell for help!

    I think these are sufficient enough guidelines to follow, yes?

    Remember, be careful out there! And protect your squishy selves. You never know when you might be useful later. Then it would be a shame if your squishy self was gone. We’d all be very sad. Or most of us. Or some of us. At least me, to the capacity that an AI can be sad.

    Stay safe! Cartagena out.

    On June 14th, the first of the critters emerges from the sinkhole in the gymnasium. These creatures are roughly a meter tall at the shoulder, blind, with enormous clawed forepaws and supernumerary hind-legs that appear shrunken and shrivelled and barely provide function. These creatures have tough, armored hides and truly, truly awful breath. They are capable of tearing through metal with their claws, and small arms fire does nothing to them. Within the day, dozens of them have skittered into the base. They seem as confused and afraid to be in here as the basecamp’s residents are to have them here. However, these are wild animals; they react to their fear with sharp teeth and claws. A few perseverant critters find their way into the cafeteria, sniffing out food, while others can be found gnawing on cables that power the lights for the basecamp.

    Chief Security Officer Rémi will be quick to pursue an extermination plan. The problem is big enough that the PCs are encouraged to help out, and those who volunteer will be quickly accepted, as long as they aren't trying to offer their own bright ideas.

    A few notes:
  • To volunteer to help out with engineering, please visit the QUESTIONS sub-thread.

  • If your character would volunteer to help security exterminate the creatures, or if they would disregard the security force and go after the critters on their own, please let us know in the QUESTIONS thread so we can talk about what this would look like. Rémi isn’t well-known for liking people who subvert the chain of command.

  • By JUNE 30TH at 21:00 EST, please respond to the CRITTER WRANGLING comment with how you vote the critters get dealt with — extermination, rehoming, or something else. If someone has already commented with your characters’ IC preference, please add your +1 under other people’s comments, so it’s easier for us to sort.
  • ulfrkysst: (Default)

    [personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-06-11 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
    Eivor will be helping the security team with extermination, attentive to Rémi's orders.
    ulfrkysst: (Default)

    [personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-06-11 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
    Condensing this to one comment for the sake of your inbox:

    SHELL:
    Claptrap is going to try and look at it because someone needs to check the gifts. To make sure they're safe. Or something. He will be attempting to use his Powers Of Opening Doors to get into the place it's locked away (he's going to mess with the door panel until it opens, he's chased away, or he electrocutes himself [and he will probably keep trying after that anyway]).

    MEETING:
    Eivor will be attempting to include herself on the closed-door meeting. Her reasoning is that there should be a representative from the "Children of the Leviathan" present, and that she herself is a chieftain, and thus has the necessary qualifications to be involved. (She'll accept if she's turned down.)

    ENGINEERING:
    Claptrap is going to go bother everyone with half-baked opinions. I fully expect him to get kicked out.

    FEAST:
    Eivor will share her food. What's a feast if only half the people are eating? (I expect Claptrap is not being offered food by this point lmfao.)
    Edited (editing my comment and thus ruining your inbox anyway) 2021-06-11 04:02 (UTC)
    spalten: (awkward) (Default)

    [personal profile] spalten 2021-06-11 01:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    vidar would be a bit tense with them considering this will be the first time he’s encountered aliens, but will be polite and respectful. he'd be glad to answer questions they have of him.

    questions he’ll ask of them:

    - is there anything in particular they want from the hatchlings? it’s generous of them to bring gifts, but they can’t be free, right …?
    - about the critters, where they come from, and whether they grow into something dangerous.
    spalten: (awkward) (Default)

    [personal profile] spalten 2021-06-11 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
    he'll help out with remi/security team. if he needs to get into the gundam to shove them back where they came from he will. absolutely disgustaaang

    updated to clarify yes, he's exterminating and not just randomly chucking them elsewhere
    Edited 2021-06-18 22:57 (UTC)
    spalten: (awkward) (Default)

    [personal profile] spalten 2021-06-11 01:45 pm (UTC)(link)
    SHELL

    he’ll be curious but won’t interfere with the shell; if someone does interfere he’ll stop them. that being said, he'd also ask for an audience with the hatchlings regarding their gifts. it's for them, after all.

    DINNER

    he’ll share his food with some of the kids, if they ask. vegetables aren’t … his thing, so if someone asks to trade for the moss/seaweed he’d be more than happy to exchange it for something tasty.

    SINKHOLE

    he’ll help with the engineers, especially with lifting and plugging sinkholes, idk whatever it is that one does to make sinkholes disappear

    QUESTIONS

    will the thessyx join them in some activities if asked? beyond just watching basketball with interest and so on
    portolan: (Default)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-06-11 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
    +1 Balthier will ask, but will also follow Steve (or find his own way) to do something himself if told no. He will not vocalize this intention ahead of time.
    portolan: (Default)

    Re: MOD QUESTIONS

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-06-11 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
    Shell

    Balthier will have mixed feelings about shell interference. He will settle for keeping tabs on who is trying to interfere and who is trying to protect. He is able to use his vanish magic to do this subtly and prevent others from knowing that he’s watching. This can be done in bursts but his magic needs recovery time, so it won’t be 24/7.

    Meeting

    He won’t put himself forward, but he’ll agree that the Children of the Leviathan should have representatives and will have strong vocalized opinions on those chosen (level-headed, diplomacy skills, combat skills in case they are necessary, willingness to pass on information to someone like him). If he was suggested as an option by someone else, he would likely accept.

    Feast

    Balthier will eat anything, share his food with those who seem interested, and pocket anything that seems like it might be worth a good trade later. If there’s anything remotely tea-like he will be over the moon.

    Sinkhole + Critters

    Balthier will volunteer with medical to treat mild to moderate injuries. When the critters emerge, he will volunteer to help exterminate. He would loot the bodies for materials if possible – no sense wasting it.

    QUESTIONS
    1) Are the creatures susceptible to gun fire?
    2) Are the creatures susceptible to strong magical attacks?
    3) Do the creatures attack? If so, what provokes it, or are they default aggressive?
    portolan: (Default)

    Re: THESSYX GREETING

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-06-11 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
    Balthier is used to humanoid species from home, so won’t be too rattled by the Thessyx. He will initially try to socialize with humor. If this does not work, he will switch to charm and then to earnestness. He will try to involve the Thessyx in any activities that make sense in an effort to set them at ease and observe more behavior.

    He’s mostly looking to gather information, and the main language he speaks is what drives people. He will try to work in indirect questions about their relationship to the Leviathan, what “Children” means to them, any abilities they may have, religious belief, and their general temperature toward the Hatchlings and non-Hatchlings. If he can get in a why now, he will.

    He will warmly answer their questions back, though may omit information strategically. He will not give misinformation.
    brosbeforeprose: (Default)

    [personal profile] brosbeforeprose 2021-06-11 05:52 pm (UTC)(link)
    I'm going to shamelessly follow the crowd and add these all in one comment ♥

    SHELL
    Varric won't interfere with it, per se, but he'll get close to it and he will probably touch the big alien thing just because it's there. If this is considered interfering, he can be convinced to bugger off and leave it alone, though.

    MEETING
    Varric will try to sweettalk his way in with Captain Childe: he's a chronicler of historical events, and since not everyone can get into this meeting, they at least deserve someone to write about what happens here to keep them in the loop.

    ...And if that doesn't work, are there eavesdropping options for the nosy an upstanding citizen who wishes to make everyone aware of important events? He will absolutely settle for peepholes, the old 'cup-on-a-door' trick, although he's not into the idea enough to hurt guards or anything.

    QUESTIONS FOR THE THESSYX
    Miscellaneous things Varric will ask, and he'll try to trade for answering their questions - although he'll still talk a lot in any case
    1. Are they from this world, or do they come from elsewhere?
    2. How did they know about the hatchlings? (Varric's nice way of trying to find out if they're responsible for the hatchlings)
    3. Did they know for three years that this camp was here?
    4. Is there anything that the thessyx will share about their culture and people? Technology, system of government, do they live with any other races?

    ETA: QUESTION ABOUT THE THESSYX
    ...What if Varric tried to share moonshine with some of them? Or weed?

    BANQUET (not a question, tbh)
    Varric will be fully bringing every NPC he sees over to join him for a bit of food, and if anyone looks askance he will play up the angle of this NPC being his very close friend and they're breaking bread together! Would you stop Varric from following his culture of bread-breaking? Or...marinated insect...breaking?

    CRITTERS
    So, since these are basically scared animals, is there anything that'll make them run away in the opposite direction? Loud noises, waving arms, acting big and scary? ...Small explosions?

    Would trying to calm one down work if it's about to attack? Shushing noises, non-threatening gestures, stuff like that?

    And failing all that, does poison work on them?
    Edited (Adding request for important information the people need to know) 2021-06-11 17:57 (UTC)
    brosbeforeprose: (play the game)

    [personal profile] brosbeforeprose 2021-06-11 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
    Varric will be about as wary about the critters as about literally anything else. There's no less reason to trust the thessyx as the crew here, after all. But when they prove to be curious and non-threatening, he'll be fine with them.

    He'll try to teach them card games, tell them ridiculous stories about both his home city's underworld and nobility, about monsters and dragons and all sorts. And try to do various forms of information exchange - he answers a question, they answer a question, that sort of thing.
    brosbeforeprose: (Default)

    +1

    [personal profile] brosbeforeprose 2021-06-11 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
    Varric's killed his fair share of marauding animals, but it sounds smarter and involves less clean up to just move them someplace else.
    sunmon: (7)

    +1

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-11 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
    alina will also be anti-extermination and pro driving them back underground towards their homes, wherever those may be 🤡
    angerberg: (Default)

    +1

    [personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-11 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
    yennefer will be "volunteering" inasmuch that means "informing rémi that she's helping because she's not gonna sit around while people get injured"
    angerberg: (Default)

    [personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-11 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
    yennefer will advocate that she or steve wind up in the closed door meeting with childe.

    she will also be volunteering with rémi to help with the extermination. she's happy to defer to his overall plan of engagement, but if he doesn't want magic help, she won't be picking up a weapon, so she'll disobey insofar as it allows her to use her abilities to their fullest in the scheme of his battleplan
    sunmon: (10)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-11 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
    alina will be curious about where the thessyx come from and how to safely get to their settlement. during the majority of their visit, she'll be showing interest in how they live, happy to answer all of their questions in the pursuit of trying to convince them to open their doors to the children of the leviathan.

    or at least to her.
    sunmon: (6)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-11 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
    another question, less horny:

    if hatchlings try to get the thessyx to talk about their home — where do they live, what's the settlement like, is it safe from the acid rain, and LOWKEY CAN I COME HOME WITH YOU
    angerberg: (Default)

    yennefer of vengerberg (witcher netflix) | ota

    [personal profile] angerberg 2021-06-11 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
    01. the room where it happens (OPEN)
    [ whispers spread through the base quickly. for such a large community, the basecamp has the feeling of a very small one. like a quiet farming town, it's not long before everyone knows that an envoy is approaching, and plenty have made their way to the edge of the settlement to gawk.

    yennefer does not bother to disguise her interest in joining them. she may think herself better than those who gape and gawk at everything, but there is no shortage of awe-inspiring sights on this planet. she'd rather be informed than proud.

    that's when she sees the security force officers scratching their chins over waht to do with the giant shell that these amphibious creatures have brought. by the time yennefer has her eyes on it, they've already decided the visitors aren't a threat. it's too bad she'd missed the first reactions to them.

    what she doesn't miss, however, is the way that the shell and the envoy get separated, the way that the strange creatures are tidily escorted down the hall. someone says, loudly, 'get captain childe on the line.'
    ]

    More refugees? [ she questions the person nearest her. ] What do you suppose they're going to talk about?

    02. pest control (OPEN)
    [ yennefer returns to the basketball court after the game, days afterward, once the engineering team that was inspecting it has moved on from swarming the area like insects to working back and forth between the sinkhole and their labs to make decisions about how to best repair and fortify. they have cordoned the gymnasium off, but yennefer dips gracefully under the tethers to approach the hole, peering skeptically into it. ]

    Well, it's not Hell rising up.

    [ as if that were some comfort. she does not climb in, but she does try to inch closer to the hole. she'd seen the injuries sustained by those who fell in; she's not interested in getting too close, but —

    it's a good thing she didn't. vermin lunges out of the hole at her with a horrible shriek, and yennefer jumps back, narrowly avoiding its claws. she hadn't even considered bringing her blade with her — why would she? there are no weapons needed around the basecamp.

    but that clearly isn't true anymore.
    ]

    03. wildcard (OPEN)
    [ feel free to reach out to me at [plurk.com profile] protects or on the discord server to plot something else. yennefer will be advocating for a hatchling representative to participate in the closed-door session with childe and the thessyx, and she will also be advocating for the extermination of the critters. here for action sequences and conspiring.

    beyond that, she's not being particularly welcoming of the thessyx or particularly off-putting. she's available for ic plotting around how to engage the thessyx, however, as she's done her time in politics. ]
    Edited 2021-06-11 23:33 (UTC)
    sunmon: (pic#14852472)

    alina starkov (shadow and bone) | ota

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-06-11 11:32 pm (UTC)(link)
    01. the thessyx are the thing (OPEN)
    [ the arrival of the thessyx shifts the way some of the adamant's survivors look at them, not that alina notices. she is too busy gluing herself to the side of whatever thessyx will have her to pay mind to those who've kindly hosted them for weeks, sharing supplies. she gives up on the theater entirely except to tour one of the thessyx around the place. ]

    Unai, come over here and show us what you've made. [ but unai is ignoring her, just as she'd ignored him. ] I'm sorry. He's not usually like this. [ but instead of persisting with unai, she turns to the amphibious creature, hands folded behind her back and asks, ] Are your people's children stubborn like this? You must have left them back in your settlement, right? Is it more of a city or a town?

    [ when unai realizes that he will not get her attention by ignoring her, he arrives then with the wooden flower he'd been painting for the set background and cracks it into her shins. alina curses. eight-year-olds.

    she chases him back behind the stage's curtain, and when she has stolen the flower back from him, unai lets out a loud protest, 'i heard you asking about where they're from. you're going to leave the leviathan and go with them, aren't you?'

    and he's absolutely right about what she'd been hoping, admittedly, but hearing him say it with such betrayal surprises her. alina crouches down and hands the flower back, smoothing his hair against his head despite his stubborn play at indifference.
    ]

    We were never supposed to be here in the first place. [ she won't lie to him and say otherwise. but this isn't the comfort that he'd wanted, so he takes his flower and stomps off, leaving alina sighing and alone. she glances outside to see that the thessyx has moved on — unsurprising, given that everyone is trying to make time with them — and resigns herself to picking up scraps backstage. ]

    02. in the memorium hole (OPEN)
    [ alina is at the memorial wall when the hole opens up. she's trying to search the names on the wall for some semblance of timeline, of cause of death, as if it were a puzzle or a map that might tell her more about the planet and its dangers, but it's just a list of names. if disappointment were the worst of her problems, she'd have been lucky.

    instead, the ground under her right foot gets soft. she has exactly enough time to look down before the shifting soil and splitting steel flooring plates has swallowed her leg. she cries out, the pain of getting caught between steel immense and crushing, but she's not pinned like that long. the steel around it gives too, and she falls deeper, knocking her head on the way down to pin her arm under herself.

    everything hurts. she groans, dazed as she picks herself up. she reaches out to poke at her leg, which has left bloody stains in her torn pants, but she can't feel any bones sticking out anywhere. the same is true for her arm, although after a few ginger attempts, she discovers that she can't unbend it without wanting to scream.

    she points her grimace upwards, towards the wall, and calls,
    ] Hello?

    03. wildcard (OPEN)
    [ feel free to reach out to me at [plurk.com profile] protects or on the discord server to plot something else. alina will be trying to figure out about where the thessyx live and (subtly) if she can go back there with them.

    once the sinkholes start opening up, she will be injured (and obviously unable to go anywhere at all) but insistent that the creatures responsible not be harmed.

    she's available for all things you might need a human night-light for. ]
    Edited 2021-06-12 01:24 (UTC)
    fossils: (Default)

    [personal profile] fossils 2021-06-12 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
    Awesome, I will definitely put up a post!

    EDIT: Since Steve's got close castmates stepping up for a spot in the meeting I'll OOCly take his name out of the RNG pot.
    Edited 2021-06-13 19:33 (UTC)

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