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.
  • dissemblance: (pic#15035327)

    [personal profile] dissemblance 2021-07-25 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
    I do hate lemons.

    it's said with a laugh, and a shake of her head as she leans over the hole to look down into it. it's not quite an abyss — she can see the bottom, for one — but it's deep enough she's not sure she wants to risk it for a trinket.

    No — I can replace it easy enough with the technology here. Give me five minutes with that 3D printer of theirs, tops.

    and speaking of vulnerability... damn, son, you live like this? natasha gives him a sort of sideways glance, her jaw jutted off to one side, and then:

    Careful. Before too long I'll be hauling you out of bed at three in the morning to make good on that promise.

    she steps back from the hole, smacks him playfully against the outside of his shoulder and then gestures towards the din coming from the rest of the camp. she's not the only one with a near miss, she's pretty sure.

    C'mon, let's go be cowboys.
    portolan: (a f t e r y o u)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-07-25 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
    You can pay me back for the three AM wakeup with a lesson on how to operate the 3D printer.

    [ He's not one hundred percent sure what that is, but if it can create objects with enough strength to hold up an adult human, he can think of a few uses: replacement ship parts, ammunition, an ergonomic and beautiful tea cup.

    He is knocked out of this reverie by Natasha's comment and the sounds of others in the distant.
    ]

    Alas, leading men never rest. Or women, it seems.

    [ They start down the hall toward the direction of the chaos. Balthier checks his magick stores -- solid; he hasn't been to the Aid Station yet today. ]

    Let me know if you have any pain or muscle weakness. I have a few rounds of healing in me. [ He's aware he might need to use that on less fortunate members of camp very shortly. ]
    sunmon: (Default)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-07-25 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ slowly, alina nods. it's a barely perceptible thing. a mere inch of movement. like she's worried somehow kirigan might see her make the gesture and figure out what she knows. she's been teetered on the edge of a knife since arriving here. ]

    I'm afraid that if I go back to Ravka, I won't be in control of what my power is used to do. [ the words stagger past her lips. ] I'm afraid that I haven't been in control of it since Kribirsk.

    [ but she still can't trust. not completely. she reels it back, hides behind the safest sort of treason. nina is obviously more loyal to the grisha than to the king. there seems to be a lot of that around the little palace. ]

    I'm afraid of what lengths the King might make me go to. And I won't have a choice. You know what happens to deserters.
    sunmon: (pic#14854105)

    cw: just ... darklina ... idek how to describe. grooming??????

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-07-26 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
    [ alina's eyes go wide with the admission. slowly, her hand creeps up to cover her mouth. she had never imagined that of balthier. it's stupid, of course. pirates do pirate things. but she'd never thought about the particulars. she'd tried not to. just like she'd tried to believe all the best of kirigan as soon as he'd looked at her the way he had, and she'd decided she liked it.

    but balthier is different. he'd killed his father to stop atrocity, the likes of which kirigan had committed. that has to be different, right? but as balthier continues, she can only think of the king, and fjerda, and shu han, and the fate of the grisha without the black general. without a united ravka that protects its grisha instead of driving them out.
    ]

    I'm sorry about your father. [ that's the first, most important thing to say. that loss is the most personal of all of it. ] Not just that he died, but ... it sounds like you lost him before that. To power. [ there's a shadow in her eyes. can she have lost kirigan to power, when the person that she'd grown so attached to had never been existed? it was a mere act. but even now, his softness seems real.

    shame hits next. once her condolences are dealt with, it crashes down on her. wasn't that what she had wanted, fleeing os alta? a small, selfish, private life? but she is the sun summoner. she has the power to do something about this — or she could, if she'd just train. she might be the only person who could stop the black heretic. who could keep ravka safe for grisha. who could keep ravka whole. it sounds so arrogant to even think it, but ... maybe baltheir was right. maybe she couldn't run like he had.
    ]

    Did you help Ashe because you regretted running away? Or could you only help her because you'd run away?
    sunmon: (pic#14981255)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-07-26 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
    She sounds terrifying.

    [ but alina smiles as she says it. fran sounds terrifying in the way that saints sound terrifying, but everyone finds a way to admire them and hope for their blessings anyway. ]
    neversmall: (Default)

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-07-26 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
    [ This is a mix, then, of hesitancy, truth, and deception. Nina is beyond attempting to ignore the signs from Alina at this point. She's good at this sort of thing, she could even figure out which parts were true, which a lie. The fear is real, though, and the fear is enough to make her teeth ache.

    She takes a breath, though, because it doesn't make any sense. The fear should not be this acrid, this acute, if it was a fear that was that far in the future.

    It's a balance, a choice - how do you become a friend? And what kind of friend will you be if you don't act? The sort that just shares a kefta? How long do you wait for someone to show themselves to you and when do you push? It's different if you're working with a mark, than with someone you are trying to be a friend to.

    She lifts her head slightly, meeting Alina's gaze squarely. ]


    You probably haven't been. To be fair, how could you have? As you gain more control of your power and learn to understand the politics... I'm sure you'll be able to have more of a say. We all bow to the throne, but being the Sun Summoner gets you a lot of leverage. You're not replaceable. You can work with that.

    [ And Nina says you and not we, because yes, she knows what happens to deserters and even though the choice tears at her, she would not unmake it.

    She takes a half step forward, puts a hand on Alina's shoulder. ]


    Don't let the future haunt you, Alina. We've got enough to deal with here.
    sunmon: (Default)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-07-26 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
    Right. Here.

    [ the sharp breath she draws suggests all of nina's assumptions are true: the problem is very much not back and ravka, but present with them. she can't simply let go of it. but alina can't think of a good way to address this without revealing too much, without risking it getting back to kirigan.

    she's probably already said too much.

    fortunately, all of these things keep her from taking much notice of nina's focus on how alina can recover things back in os alta, and not how they can do it together. the self-involvement of adolescents.
    ]

    Thanks for talking with me about this. I feel better. [ a little. it's not entirely a lie. she feels at least she can trust nina to have a line. kirigan doesn't. ]
    guylining: ((older) b l i n k)

    [personal profile] guylining 2021-07-26 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)
    Okay.

    So you can feel free not to help. Thanks anyway.
    mylawn: (pic#12074765)

    [personal profile] mylawn 2021-07-27 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
    I don't think it would be fun.

    [Or easy. Or that they'd even be able to do it if they didn't steal a bunch of stuff from basecamp on their way out. Still, 76 thinks he might like it better than being caught between two factions that may decide the new arrivals are a convenient scapegoat.]

    Which people?

    [The inhabitants of basecamp, maybe, but he has a feeling he knows who she means--not all of the "hatchlings" are soldiers or otherwise trained in survival. There are civilians in their number, who might not be so keen on this kind of plan. To that, 76 would say that nobody has to go along with this, but he recognizes the need to look out for people who can't necessarily look out for themselves.]
    neversmall: (008)

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-07-27 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Nina had put her hand on Alina to be a comfort. But the unintentional effect of being a Heartrender and actually touching someone is that your ability to block out what their body is doing is pretty much completely compromised. And it's deception again.

    Which can only lead Nina to the inevitable conclusion that there is something that Alina is very afraid of here. It's not Nina herself, at least she thinks. The fear is certainly present, but it isn't constant whenever she's around and she honestly... can't imagine why Alina would be afraid of her, so she somewhat comfortably rules that out. Nothing Alina's said has pointed to a fear inherent in their current circumstances, which only leaves:

    Matthias - a druskelle, it would make sense for Alina to be afraid of him, except she knows for a fact that the two have communicated over the devices and Alina's volunteered to go map-making with him, so... ???

    Kirigan - the general certainly was fearsome, but Nina was fairly certain he'd sooner chew off his own arm than hurt the Sun Summoner, let alone dealing with the various shades of attraction that she's been trying very hard not to think about, so... ???

    Okay. Just gonna. Wait and see a bit more than and think about this later. It doesn't make much sense, but... okay. Sure. Why not this too.

    She lets her hand drop and gives a wry smile. ]


    I didn't even tell you about the giant fish dream yet. [ She sobers a bit. ] It will be all right, Alina. You're not alone.
    dissemblance: (pic#14842248)

    [personal profile] dissemblance 2021-07-27 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
    More to life than just surviving. I've been on the run plenty of times, I'm not looking for a repeat performance.

    she's played her life close to her chest, but ultimately it doesn't matter. it's... oddly liberating, to have the ability to choose what she says here. back home, the whole world knew what she'd done. her entire life, eviscerated for the people, the press. she pulled the trigger on that and didn't regret it, but boy did it make her miss privacy, which is all too easy here.

    so she wants to say she was on the run. big deal, right?


    People who might need me.

    she says that with a coy little tilt to her mouth. hatchlings, survivors, aliens. she's seen the scope of the universe and all held those lives in her hands. she's not afraid to say she cares now, even for strangers. and so the cynic becomes the optimist. clint would laugh to hear it.
    portolan: (c o n v e r s a t i o n)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-07-31 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
    The most terrifying, intimidating, competent, and trustworthy. Assuming she liked you.

    [ he catches her smile, though. ]

    How about you? Anyone you worked with regularly at home?
    sunmon: (pic#14854103)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-07-31 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ it's a grim comfort. 'you're not alone.' that's the problem, after all. had there been no ravkans, no grisha, no fjerdan druskelle to plague her here, she might have been safe. she might have stood a chance, and ravka too.

    instead, she bunks terribly near a witch hunter, the black heretic, and a grisha spy who she desperately wants to trust but can't quite be sure isn't perfectly aware of and loyal to said heretic and spying on her.

    she nods all the same. she can appreciate the sentiment, and try to hold onto the assurance all the same for its spirit. it should be nice, not to be alone. the real problem is how alone she feels because of how many people she knows here, but if it weren't for that, surely she could imagine how nice it would be to share in her burden with someone. and so, she musters a smile.
    ]

    Alright, enough politics, about this fish dream.
    sunmon: (pic#14899426)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-07-31 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
    A few, I guess. I told you already that there's no one who can do what I do, but ...

    [ she hunches her shoulders a little. ]

    There was a boy I grew up with. A tracker. We used to be inseparable, joined the First Army together. But ... He hates Grisha. So when it came out what I was ... I haven't heard from him since. [ she clears her throat. ] In the capital, though, I met a few people who've helped me. The Queen's handmaid, Genya, has made it easier to fit in. Nadia and Marie are good friends. [ beat. ] Or. Marie was. But she ... [ died. the word dies just as suddenly on her tongue.

    she grapples valiantly for something less depressing and lands, instead, on the words of them all:
    ] And General Kirigan, of course. You've probably seen him around.

    [ it's cool and normal to hang out with dark looming dudes twice you're age, yeah? because they're attached at the hip. ]
    Edited 2021-07-31 20:22 (UTC)
    mylawn: (pic#11742616)

    [personal profile] mylawn 2021-07-31 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    [He shrugs a little, because he doesn't really have a good answer for that. All he's really done the past six years is survive, and run, and not much else. He isn't really sure what else is left for him, anymore, so striking out on his own would just be more of the same. It wouldn't be the worst thing, he thinks, but when Natasha says she doesn't want this for herself, he feels a little tired. Maybe she's right.

    Still, he's stubborn, and isn't going to admit as much out loud. He won't even address the fact that she's tacitly admitting to being on the wrong side of the law--a comment like that could mean anything, really, and 76 has spent long enough as a wanted fugitive that he's not really one to talk.
    ]

    Altruistic of you.

    [Once, he would've said the same thing, but he can't afford that kind of selflessness now. There simply isn't that much of him left to give.]

    You got friends here?
    neversmall: (139)

    there is... so much tl;dr... i'm so sorry.

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-08-01 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It's interesting, the way Alina reacts to that phrase - the first time, it had been with something like recognition; the second, with a brilliant smile; and now this --

    Yes, what she fears is definitely here. And definitely from home.

    Nina thinks she's been walking the line of her personal integrity pretty well - she hasn't called Alina out on a lot that she can sense, but then if she spent all her time doing that, she'd never be able to have a conversation with anyone. But with this ice cold, clammy realization - that this fear she has sensed in Alina is a consistent one for her, that it is something dogging her steps from home, Nina finds herself at an uncomfortable crossroads. By far, the best bet is to continue with seeming blindness, at least for a little while longer - to observe, and to determine her best path forward. She hates to see Alina this afraid; she hates to see anyone this afraid, let alone someone who so much depends on, someone whose company she's enjoyed. But Nina's broken away from Ravka and her and Matthais' safety is balanced on a knife's edge, the whim of one man - so it would be better to gather more information and then determine how best to act.

    But at this point... would be inauthentic? She tastes copper in her mouth as she remembers what she doesn't want to remember, and if it becomes inauthentic, if it becomes deceptive...

    Then no matter what she tells herself about the progression of friendship, this is no longer something real. Alina would become simply an asset, a mark, and nothing about it would truly belong to Nina anymore, just the sliver of herself that she is projecting.

    She's had to live life like that before, and she hates it. Does she have the luxury to abandon wisdom, does she dare take try to take hold of what she truly wants - real, or not at all?

    Fuck it. She doesn't know. ]


    You know... there's what's just politics, all the way back home, and then there's whatever is making it so your heartbeat is racing here. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to tell me. Trust is something that should be earned, even if ultimately it's something just given. But I hope you'll believe me when I tell you that I'm going to do what I can to help you. Even if you weren't the Sun Summoner, you're Grisha - and I think we've all had enough of other people telling us who to be, and how to use or not use our powers. We have the chance here to just be ourselves... [ she trails off, a little lost with where she was going with all this, and not entirely sure how she'd gotten to this point in the first place - that's what comes of opening your mouth in the first place. ] ...and isn't that the point?

    [ Just to be themselves, and make the best choices with their power that they can? But it's their power, no one else's. ]
    figlia_morbida: ([times like these])

    AND THEN U DROPPED but so have I after this lol

    [personal profile] figlia_morbida 2021-08-01 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
    [Listen...you can do a good thing and help yourself. That's just efficiency! Besides, she imagines it would be poor form to barf her gifts up because that would inevitably happen! Trish is saving everyone so much trouble, she promises you, Bruno.

    She eyes his frown, but no chastising words escape his mouth. Rather, it's an unfortunate truth. One she won't argue with, though she casts a brief, withering look at the nearby Thessyx.

    Blinded indeed...although, Bruno's view on that is more charitable than her own.

    Trish frowns back though, because why is he worrying about her eating! She begrudgingly eats her designated space paste just like everyone else...

    She crosses her arms in a huff.
    ]

    I'm not going to starve just because I refuse to eat a pile of insects.

    [Harumph!!]
    sunmon: (Default)

    it's ok i love it

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-08-01 09:48 pm (UTC)(link)
    Don't tell him.

    [ it's perhaps the oddest thing she could have come back with, but survival is like that. the greatest threat to alina right now isn't the moles or the rats or the acid rain. it's kirigan. she has absolutely no idea what he'd of if he knew what she knew, if he decided she was a problem. but she knows that he's powerful enough for the prospect to be terrifying.

    she grabs nina's hands. if she's ready to give voice alina's odd behavior, then it means she might also be ready to report it.
    ]

    I know that he's your General, but it's like you said. You can be yourself here. You don't — You don't have to be Second Army just because you're Grisha. [ but all that loyalty to grisha, to ravka, sounds like the stuff of the little palace. the stuff that made alina so worried in the first place that they must all know about kirigan, that the safest place for her could only be outside of it. ] You don't have to spy for him.
    portolan: (g r i e f)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-08-02 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He doesn't know what to say to the condolences about his father. Does he deserve them? More importantly, does he want them? If Fran were here, he'd have let her get him drunk and talked out his feelings. Would have thanked her in the morning and tried again sober. Would have done the work he knew he needed to do. But facing that alone...he felt like a 16-year-old again, fleeing a weight he knew he would never be able to stand under. ]

    I told myself I helped her because I wanted the treasure of Raithwall, and then because I was guilty about my father, but honestly, I think I might have helped her because I believed it was the right thing to do, and that Dalmasca deserved a bright future.

    Terrible pirate, I know.

    [ He feels whatever moment of vulnerability they've had pass with his own closing off. It's both devastating and relieving; at least he has a face for this. ]

    Besides, Ashe was stunningly radiant. What kind of leading man would I be if I left the dashing princess-warrior in her time of need?
    neversmall: (051)

    1/2

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-08-02 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
    [ ...

    what

    the

    hell? ]
    neversmall: (132)

    2/2

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-08-02 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
    [ The desperation with which Alina grabs her hand isn't a surprise, it just confirms how much she's been carrying, how close she'd been to cracking.

    The rest of this though - the rest of it is a surprise. Nina's response is instinctive, incredulous: ]


    I'm not talking to you because I'm reporting back about you to the General! Saints, the man hasn't even asked me to. [ And if he had? ...well, if he had, something would have been very wrong. And she'd have crossed that bridge when she came to it. It's a fair question, despite the shock and the sting; after all, hadn't she just been speaking to Alina about the snake-pit politics of the Little Palace? It doesn't feel fair, though. You'd think, as a Heartrender and a spy she'd be used to people doubting her like this - and she is, and it sucks, to be so consistently judged by what she can do instead of who she is, what she is doing. Treacherous. Wicked. Less than.

    But there's more to this than her instinctive response, it's an appeal to her stated goal - being herself - as a way to get beyond her loyalty. It's clever, really, and it shows just how badly Alina wants this - and what she must feel she herself is - if she is trying to entice Nina to be a traitor. Her lips firm for a moment, and she hesitates to entrust any more of herself to Alina, who's shown so clearly what she thinks of her, what she fears, and what she'll do when she's desperate.

    Desperate, and afraid. And now Nina can see very clearly who Alina's afraid of, even if she doesn't yet understand why. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. When she speaks, it's quiet so as to not carry. ]
    He'll not hear that you're afraid of him from me.

    [ She states her conclusion as if it's a matter of fact, and that makes it something inescapable and real now between them. The fact of the matter is that she can't protect Alina from the General any more than she could protect Matthias from him. But she has absolutely no reason to think the General means Alina any harm. So then why such fear? ]
    portolan: (c h i t c h a t)

    [personal profile] portolan 2021-08-02 02:24 pm (UTC)(link)
    Come to think of it, I'm not sure that any of my friends share my skillsets -- no that it's quite the same, mind. I was ships and gunmanship; Fran was magick and nature lore. I think that's why we did so well together.

    I didn't keep many of my friends from youth either. I think I interacted with Kirigan once on the forums -- haven't seen him in person. A general is he? [Balthier has vague memories of a man he talked to about war and ethics. Alright fellow, but reminded him too much of the Judges and other Archadian elite. ]
    sunmon: (Default)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-08-02 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ she ought to defend herself, really. it sounds absurd, unstable, to be so paranoid about it, to accuse nina of something like that when all nina had ever done was be her friend. but that's the trouble. nina had tried to be her friend, and nina also spied for general kirigan. there's no way not to make that assumption.

    she must understand. she must. even if she didn't know the truth, and from her reaction, alina can only guess that she doesn't, for it wouldn't seem so absurd if she did, then ... she must know that the general would never risk losing his sun summoner. nina would know what alina means to him, to all grisha.

    but alina feels sick, hearing it said out loud. she leans back against the nearby wall, pressing her eyes closed. she breathes slowly.
    ]

    I believe you. [ which is hard, for her. trust is not easily given when the general had shattered it the way he had. ]
    sunmon: (pic#14854130)

    [personal profile] sunmon 2021-08-03 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
    He leads the Grisha.

    [ she chews the inside of her cheek. it feels like less than enough, but she isn't prepared to consider what else she might say of him, these days. and she can't risk it getting around what she did say. it's not that she doesn't trust balthier, it's just ...

    well, she doesn't trust anyone right now.
    ]
    neversmall: (140)

    sorry for the delay!

    [personal profile] neversmall 2021-08-04 01:20 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Nina's nostrils flare slightly as she takes a deep breath. Her gaze rests heavily on Alina, the focus not the focus of a knife point, but of a magnet - waiting for any clue to stand at attention and present itself to the inevitable force of her attention. She doesn't want to deal with this. She doesn't have much choice.

    Quietly: ]
    Why are you afraid of him? Has he hurt you? Forced you somehow?

    [ She remembers how the shallowness of Alina's 'I think he likes seeing it on me' and all the implications that she wanted Kirigan's attention which never rang quite true. As difficult as it was for Nina to think of the general as a human, sexual being instead of a force of nature... well, apparently he was. The man had a... darkness to him, true, but he'd spent his life in war, attempting to secure Ravka's freedom and protection of Grisha and undo the terrible wrong of his ancestry. A bit of darkness was understandable, with all that. Nina knew on some level she carried it too. But she could not believe that Kirigan would ever turn all his considerable power to hurting that which he'd spent his life protecting - and Alina was the hope at the end of the story, the chance for a future, for an ending. She couldn't imagine he'd risk damaging that... ]

    Page 23 of 25